Subsidiarity as a factor and technology for overcoming crises (reception of the principle of subsidiarity in the collective consciousness of the Russians)
This article provides certain results of empirical study of the collective consciousness of the Russians through the prism of their reception of the principle of subsidiarity and values associated with this principle. The object of this research is the collective consciousness of the Russian society. The subject is the peculiarities of refraction of legal and political meanings of the principle of subsidiarity in the collective consciousness, as well as the degree of implementation of this principle in the relationship between the government and the citizens in Russia. The key research method is the questionnaire-based sociological survey. The acquired empirical data have undergone statistical processing and comparative analysis with the data of the most reputable sociological agencies of the Russian Federation. The novelty consists in examination of the principle of subsidiarity not only as a constitutional federal principle, but also as a technology for overcoming crises and mitigating intra-elite conflict. Using the material on the pandemic of the novel coronavirus infection “COVID-19”, the author describes the changes that in the course of overcoming crises took place in consciousness of the Russian people with regards to the effectiveness of different level of government, as well as the conclusions drawn by the Russian Federal Center out of that crisis. Among the main conclusions, the author indicates the need of the Russian citizens for the strong and effective governance that would be directly related to the citizens and be within their reach. The author believes that such need corresponds the principle of the uniform system of public authority founded in the revised Constitution of the Russian Federation of 2002, which most consistently implements the principle of subsidiarity.