Liberté russe et tolérance européenne

Culturally, Russia is, for its most important part, a European country. Politically, it is only partially European, and, psychologically, not European at all. Now, for the past eight years, its government has driven Russia away from Europe, from the European values and institutions. A quasi-Soviet regime has reappeared, as freedoms have been reduced. Contrary to stereotypes, the Russian population does appreciate freedom, but is not ready to pay very much for it. Furthermore, most of the opposition does not dare to be active, fearing that it would irritate the government. And the West is surprisingly tolerant for dictatorial and totalitarian regimes, and does not defend enough the principles it advocates.Podrabinek Alexandre. Liberté russe et tolérance européenne. In: Revue Russe n°33, 2009. D’autres Russies. Altérité, diversité et complexité dans la Russie d' aujourd’hui. pp. 17-23