State-provided securities have vanished, and nothing has yet taken their place.

Anyone who spends some time in an urban setting in Russia will quickly become familiar with the sight of begging pensioners, homeless children and vagrants living (marginally) from hand to mouth. One can certainly find such sights in most large Western cities; New York, Paris and London all have sections of the population that for whatever reason have been marginalized, but in Russia the problem is particularly accute.

In the Soviet era, this problem did not occur. The cradle-to-grave social security net insured that falling through the cracks was well-nigh impossible. While few people were materially well-off by Western standards, dire poverty and need were also rare. People could feel assured that, come what may, they would at least have a roof over their head and enough bread to eat. Orphans were taken care of in special state-run children´s homes, and the elderly could be sure of an adequate pension.

With the demise of the Soviet Union, this security system vanished, and little has yet arisen to take its place. Moreover, the previous all-pervading presence of the government in caring for the population led ultimately to the near-dissolution of civic consciousness: the idea that people can and should stand up for themselves and others independently of government initiative and take care of each other.

This was compounded by a cynical attitude fostered during the 1990s, when many people saw purported charities that were really nothing but fronts for money-laundering or other illicit operations. It comes as no surprise, then, that there is still a dearth of grass-roots charitable activity in Russia.

However, where there is society, there is civil society. There are still many fine individuals and organizations doing work in Russia, and The Citizen will continue to showcase their work.