BELIEF IN EQUALITY AND DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP-BEHAVIOR IN 2 RUSSIAN SAMPLES

Does the belief in equality significantly affect democratic leadership in contemporary Russia? The belief in equality is defined as a set of assumptions that human ability and potential are widely distributed r ather than concentrated in elite minorities. A reliable and valid inve ntory of the belief in equality (BE scale) which had been developed in the United States was successfully translated into Russian. Two separ ate samples were studied-one of Russian university students (N = 200) and the other from the Russian workforce (N = 213). Among the universi ty students, high BE participants exhibited higher democratic leadersh ip behaviors than low BE participants (especially tote of the under-20 -year-old students); however, this effect was just barely detectable f or the older work-force sample. Speculations are offered regarding the differences in results between the university and the work-force samp le.