According to people who are usually called Russophobes, the management regime in our country, established after 2000, is called the "police". Certain political forces, which do not like the firm hand of the state, are, of course, in favor of such a judgment. They often provide statistics according to which Russia ranks first in the world in the number of police officers per 100 thousand people. And in this indicator, our country is significantly ahead of the United States and EU countries.
In order to objectively understand the issue of the degree to which the concept of “police state” belongs to Russia, a certain consistent analysis should be made that could accurately and factually prove or disprove this judgment. It is important to determine the main features and forms of government that fall into this category, as well as to understand how stability and long-term stability of this regime are achieved against the backdrop of global democratic processes.
The wording “police state” appeared in the 18-19 centuries, and it began to refer to countries where all management was consolidated in the hands of an elite group of people who use power structures to approve and control their power. Historical examples of the emergence of this form of government indicate that the nature of its appearance is based solely on general chaos and anarchy. Indeed, the maximum stratification of society in this case contributes to the desire of most people to create a strong power that can establish order. It was at this time that the recent leaders of gang groups under the slogans "Stability and Order" began to make their way to the top of the state hierarchy.
How do states with the prefix "police" appear?
As a rule, countries falling under the concept of “police state” vividly declare their respect for human rights and the protection of democratic freedoms. However, in the rhetoric of government officials, phrases about the “rigid vertical of governance”, “discipline” and “restoring proper order” are regularly heard. Naturally, in conditions of destabilization of the social system, most people, tired of mass outrages and anarchy, agree to such measures. Accordingly, the role of law enforcement agencies, including primarily the police, becomes dominant in this process.
Therefore, representatives of the police department, whose official duties directly include the protection of legal norms governing public order, become the most important tool of power. A characteristic phenomenon in this case is the fact that over time, this kind of serious control begins to extend to all spheres of society. Moreover, the stability declared by the authorities cannot come.
And on topical thematic issues of the public, addressed to the authorities, official representatives of the elite declare that there is a serious external and internal threat. The police state appeals to citizens about the establishment of necessary security measures that are associated with vigilance and cooperation with law enforcement agencies.
In this regard, statements by the leaders of our country in various historical epochs are very revealing. Nicholas I: "The revolution is on the threshold of Russia, but I will not let it in." And Vladimir Putin made very similar expressions about the Orange Revolution in Ukraine.
Historical examples
World history knows a sufficient number of classic examples of police states. After all, any change in the regime of power implies an objective tightening of measures to maintain it. And in the past century there have been many such events on the planet.
The most significant cases of the establishment of a police state can be attributed to Spain under the rule of Franco, Chile under the rule of Pinochet and Turkey under "Kemalism". The world community then was shocked by those tyrannical actions that took place in these countries. And the saddest thing is that these manifestations of tyranny and violation of all political and social freedoms were aimed not at establishing order and discipline, but at raising in society fear and unquestioning obedience to the will of the ruler.
Everyone understands that modern civil society must by all means counteract such forms of government. In this context, it is important to understand that a country cannot actually be transformed on the basis of only the proclaimed slogans. After all, political and social freedoms and a commitment to democracy do not depend on their declaration, but solely on implementation based on actual execution.
It turns out that for its stability, society often allows the government to tightly control the social and political spheres of life in the country. Moreover, the legal norms that protect citizens are beginning to be interpreted so freely that a simplified practice of managing the judiciary is created, unfavorable media are emasculated and the opposition is suppressed.
The concept of "police state" and Russia
Of course, it is very important for the citizens of Russia to understand what constitutes a modern state system in our country. Indeed, the well-known forms of authoritarianism, the oligarchy and the police state cannot be considered justified and satisfactory in terms of the dynamic development and establishment of democratic freedoms.
The most typical examples of police states from international life are very revealing. Typically, these regimes direct the entire resource of law enforcement agencies to protect the interests of the ruling elite, which, as a rule, includes large monopolists and entrepreneurs (less often representatives of the middle class). Thus, only these sections of the population can feel protected and live in comfortable conditions. That is why they are doing their best to support this police regime.
However, in our country there are illustrative examples that unambiguously interpret this norm of state power, when class membership is not a guarantee of inviolability. The fate of Khodorkovsky and Lebedev has become eloquent evidence that the economic elite of Russian society does not have the status of "celestials." On the other hand, citizens of the country have witnessed a situation where, at the level of the Russian oligarchy, objectionable competitors are eliminated by the hands of law enforcement agencies. In this case, thematic experience may indicate that public administration is beginning to intervene in the fundamental foundations of the economy, which were not shaken only because of the current loyalty of society.
