Novikov K.E. Mentality of a Russian Bureaucrat

Abstract

The article describes the views of the Russian officials, reconstructed on the basis of a series of in-depth interviews. It also describes the differences between the values of the higher and the ordinary employees of the administrative apparatus. It is suggested that the values of the Russian officials and their understanding of the relations between the authorities and the people are based on the ideas of paternalism and conservatism. At the same time, the Civil Service itself is based on the principles of a rational bureaucracy introduced by Max Weber, where the spirit of paternalism is virtually nonexistent.