Society and transition in post-Soviet Russia

Applying traditional notions of the concept 'political cleavage' to Russian society is premature. Judicious analysis of public opinion data demonstrat es that, despite any statistically significant differences of opinion that may exist, major Russian social groups have substantively similar attitudes toward economic reform. As economic issues are likely to dominate politica l life in Russia for the foreseeable future, the homogeneity of opinion on those issues minimizes the potential for socially based political cleavages . This social environment weakens the ration ale for adherence to democrati c institutions, which are essentially a means for peaceful mediation of soc ietal conflicts. (C) 1999 The Regents of the University of California. Publ ished by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.