Yoda: Volunteerism in Russia – Public Intelligence Blog

0Shares

Government bad, , volunteers good?

By Will Englund and Kathy Lally, Published: February 2

ITOMLYA, Russia – A country doctor, a tiny, dilapidated village hospital, an indifferent health bureaucracy — and now, coming to the rescue, volunteers from distant Moscow, bringing furniture, equipment, money and, maybe most important, good cheer.In the background, though, is the parliament — weighing a law to bring any volunteer activity under the purview of the state, on the theory that people who organize themselves to do good work are a threat to the state’s power.

Read full article.

Phi Beta Iota: As Russia cracks down on US adoptions of Russian babies, Russia itself is facing a domestic public conclusion that government has failed and must be routed around. In the USA, the majority of the public has reached precisely the same conclusion — they do not trust their government. We are in the middle of a period of transition during which Industrial Era governments that do not adapt will collapse, to be replaced by hybrid forms of governance that combine intelligence with integrity.

See Also:

2013-02-03 Expats in Russia find a home by giving back (Russia Beyond the Headlines)

2012-08-27 Volunteerism takes off…again (Russia Beyond the Headlines)

2012-07-23 History of volunteerism in Russia (The Moscow News)

2012-07-17 Russia: A Law to Regulate Volunteer Efforts (Global Voices)