wh y w e l o s t
58
V. THE ROAD TO FAILURE: ANALYSIS OF
THE PROCESSES TAKING PLACE DURING
CONSERVATIVE RULE
External Unfavorable Factors
The society that the Conservative coalition inherited was marred by all the familiar scars
of the post-Soviet condition: it was morally disoriented, passive in social and economic
spheres, welfare-addicted, corruption-prone and characterized by a severely damaged
work ethic. On top of this, one may add that it was a society with a severe split down
the middle – a nation sharply divided regarding the whole project of independence and
regarding its Soviet past. Moreover, it was also a society worn out by six years of crisis
mentality and of hardship, with awakening appetites for a better and more secure life.
The Conservative comeback was to no small extent assisted by their presenting themselves
as a force of moral change. The initial message was one of rebuilding of society’s moral
ties and its social capital, of suffusing the public climate with the values of dynamism, en-
trepreneurial spirit, transparency and responsibility. The conservative election campaign,
however, also contained elements of the opposite message. Promises were made to use the
profit from the privatization of national assets to refund devalued
ruble
deposits, as well as
to raise pensions and salaries by as much as 150-200% in less than a year. Such promises
encouraged the very passive welfare mentality that the Conservatives were setting out to
combat. Once the election victory was behind them, the Conservative government found
it much easier to fall back on the populist half of its election campaign. Needless to say, it
did not do nearly enough to change the moral climate and values of society.
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Conservative popularity ratings
Source: ‘Vilmorus’
