Socio-political Situation

In April 2002, the Consulting Council of the Public and Political Associations of the Public Assembly of the Don Under the Governor’s Supervision was created in order to monitor the formation of the procedures for ensuring an ongoing dialogue between the authorities and the society. The main aim of the council is to encourage the cooperation of the regional administration with the leaders of the political organizations and public associations in preparing the decisions that have high social impact.

The most obvious evidence of the character of the social and political situation on the Don is the activity of the political organizations and public associations in the region. The most influential and largest of the political parties today is the regional office of “Edinaya Rossiya“ (“United Russia“). In the “left” wing there are several organizations, the largest of them being the rostov regional division of the political party CPRF (The Communist Party of the Russian Federation). The regional divisions of the federal parties that have accumulated some experience of participating in the political struggle include “Yabloko“ (“Apple“), “Soyuz Pravykh Sil“ (“The Union of the Right Forces“), LDPR (“The Liberal Democratic Party of Russia“) and “The Agriarian Party of Russia“. The regional offices of “The Russian Party of LIFE“ and “The Party for the Revival of Russia“ can be characterized as “young“ parties, which have already managed to express themselves on the Don political scene.

The Governor of the Rostov Region, Vladimir Fedorovich Chub, has repeatedly stated in his public speeches and demonstrated in his actions his respectful attitude toward all political convictions and points of view. He never allows himself any sweeping, unbalanced opinions or rigid resentments. His inclination is to interact constructively with all the political forces in the region. The population knows the maxim of the governor: “We have one strong party – the party of the Don inhabitants”. This motto was reflected in the fact that practically all the most well-known federal political parties and associations are represented in Rostov Region, with no obvious conflicts between their members, and the domination of a strong “center”.

Non-political public associations that have considerable influence in the region include the federation of the trade unions of Rostov Region “The Regional Employers Union”, “The Union of the Afganistan War Veterans”, “The “Chernobyl Union” and “The Union of the Women of the Don”. All these organizations take a constructive viewpoint in representing the interests of their members; they interact actively with the Administration of the Region.

Over the last several years the list of influential political forces in the region expanded to include one more power – the Cossacks. The appearance of this kind of association in the social space of the region is one of the specific peculiarities of the area, which the governor’s team managed to “take hold of”. Here we mean the complicated revival processes that were going on among the Cossacks in the South of Russia in the 1990s. The Cossack leaders very quickly switched from the cultural and ethnic aspirations to the political ones. The slogans about the special privilege of Cossacks as a social group appeared, seriously threatening the balance and peace in the socio-political situation on the Don. But this threat was overcome by the region’s administration. The representatives of the Cossacks were invited to participate in the administrative processes on the municipal and regional levels. The Head of the Administration (the Governor) managed to retain the main component of his status – the position as the political leader of all the inhabitants of the Don – and at the same time received the faith and support of the Cossacks by becoming the honored ataman of the Don Cossack Army VKO “Vsevelikoye Voisko Donskoye”. This fact was more than a simple formality: V.F. Chub managed to acquire the tools for holding back the radical aspirations (that can be found in any developing political association) of some of the Cossack army atamans, and at the same time he promoted the authority and the positive image of the Cossacks among the population of the region. Among the good examples of this was the first international congress of Cossacks held on August 23, 2003, in Novocherkassk. The representatives of many different Cossack unions from regions of Russia and various other countries participated in the event.

The ethnic factor has a serious influence on the socio-political situation in the region. The multinational character of the area belongs to one of its inherent historical peculiarities. However, the events of the last decade, which caused conflicts in some of the former Soviet republics, as well as in the North Caucasus, led to certain changes in the ethnic “map” of Rostov Region. Consequently, new processes in the relations between different nations and peoples appeared. The area has many advantages and attractive features, so it was no wonder that it was overwhelmed by an intense migration process, which included both a labour migration and a forced resettlement. In most the cases, these people can be a potential source of conflicts. Apart from this, their presence creates additional tension for the social services (healthcare and education, mainly) in the areas of their settlement. And this, in turn, promotes unrest in the national relations in some of the districts of the region. The analysis of such conflicts and tension points that occurred in ethnic relations in various territories of the region over the last several years shows that they were mainly based on purely economic reasons and/or common hooliganism on the migrants’ part, but as a rule, they got the “political coloring” and a wide social response afterwards.

To be able to retain the stability in the relations between different peoples and nations in the region, a three-dimensional system was formed in the region. This system included:

·     the ongoing monitoring of the situation in the relation between different nations in the territories of the compact, settling of the representatives of the non-native peoples and on-the-spot measures aimed at eliminating arising conflicts;

·     consistent implementation of steps directed at creating a favorable situation for economic, political and other activities for the representatives of all nationalities living on the Don land; and

·     intensifying the activity of the institutions that have an influence on the development of the ethnic situation.

The latter mostly refers to the Consulting Council of the Representatives of Various National Groups and Public Associations in the Regional Administration, active since 1992, and the Councils for Consensus Among Nations in the Administrations of the Municipal Units and the Elders Councils in the large ethnic diasporas. The work of these organizations is aimed at ensuring effective interaction between the administrative bodies, law enforcement organizations and national and cultural institutions on such issues as stabilizing ethnic relationships, delivering support for the development of national cultures and understanding traditions of different peoples living in Rostov Region. This work is fortified by the constant attention of the Governor of the Region.

The viewpoint of Governor V.F.Chub in the sphere of ethnic relations is also expressed in the spirit of rigid compliance with the law and the well-established traditions of peaceful side-by-side existence of the representatives of various ethnic cultures on the Don.

Altogether, 533 religious organizations, representing 47 denominations, work in Rostov Region. The largest and most influential of them are: the Russian Orthodox Church, the Muslims, the Jews, the Evangelists, the Baptist Christians and others. The interdenominational relations and their interaction with the administrative authorities develops within the frameworks of the law.

There are 43 remedial organizations currently active in the region. The Commission for Human Rights Protection under the Head of Administration (Governor) of Rostov Region was created in 1997. The commission includes the heads of various remedial organizations, prominent lawyers, public leaders and state officials.

The following are the results of the elective campaign for the deputies of the City Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation held on December 7, 2003 in Rostov Region:

“Edinaya Rossiya” (“United Russia”) – 38.99%,

“CPRF” (“The Communist Party of the Russian Federation”) – 14.72%,

“LDPR” (“Liberal Democratic Party of Russia”) – 11.31%,

“Rodina” (“Motherland”) – 8.98%,

“Yabloko” (“Apple”) – 3.76%,

“The Russian Party of Pensioners and the Party of Social Justice” – 3.61%,

“The Agrarian Party of Russia” – 2.87%,

“Soyuz Pravyh Sil” (“The Union of the Right Forces“) - 2.59%,

“Against all” – 4.46%.

The other participants of the elective campaign did not surpass the two-percent limit.

During the elections for President of the Russian Federation held on March 14, 2004, the votes were distributed in the following way:

Putin V.V.            – 72.38%

Kharitonov N.N.   – 14.21%

Glazyev S.Y.       –   3.69%

Khakamada I.M.  –   3.01%

Malyshkin O.A.    –   2.33%

Mironov S.M.       –   0.61%

Against all          –    3.00%