ABSTRACT

This chapter deals with the relationship between some state hierarchies and Soviet citizens, largely from the perspective of the citizens. It examines evaluations of particular bureaucracies and the methods Soviet citizens use to deal with them. In the Soviet political system the physical and psychological distances between the top elite and the mass of citizens are greater than in most democratic, and perhaps other "socialist," states. Perhaps the bureaucracies themselves operate differently in different republics, indicating that the Soviet system is less monolithic and its administrative practices less uniform than often assumed in the West. The nature of the bureaucratic encounter varies both by the bureaucracy as well as by the clientele. In contrast to legalistic assertions, some social scientists in the USSR admit that there might be an adversary relationship between government officials and the citizens they are supposed to serve.