Resize Text: Russian President Vladimir Putin created the Public Chamber to institutionalize a civil society that would provide feedback to the state while remaining within the boundaries of legitimate conflict. Putin’s critics predicted that the Public Chamber would be a Kremlin puppet. During the first few months of its functioning, however, chamber members proved to be bolder than those critics expected and did not hesitate to criticize some of the state’s policies. The Public Chamber’s dependence on the presidential administration for its status is both an asset and a source of restraint for the Public Chamber members.
Alfred B. Evans Jr. is a professor emeritus in the Department of Political Science at California State University, Fresno. He has published many journal articles and book chapters. He is the author of Soviet Marxism-Leninism: The Decline of an Ideology (Praeger, 1993) and is a coeditor of three books, mostly recently Russian Civil Society: A Critical Assessment (M. E. Sharpe, 2005). His current research focuses on civil society and ideological trends in contemporary Russia.
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