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Originally Posted by Dondilion
Apathy to who rules/leads. Three foreigners for a total of 58 years in the twentieth century!!!
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That apathy has nothing to do with the nationality of leaders. Perhaps we should have been concerned that so soon after WWII that we had a German president.
The apathy of Russians toward their governance is due to a history going back to the middle ages of their lives being under the control of one sort of autocrat after another. The common people in Russia have been conditioned over the long history of their country, to expect nothing but authoritarianism from those who rule makes the quality of their lives any better. They had their first ten year Vietnam in Afghanistan 1979-89, and they're in the middle of their second Vietnam right now. Did any Russians complain and resist back in the 1980's? Any Russians resisting now? A few who haven't been fed the polonium-210 smoothie yet...but that's about it.
But I understand why autocracy isn't a problem for the likes of you...you're fine with autocracy. Trying to shift the actual issue to leader nationality, it's a strategy from the new seditionist/autocratic GOP. It's bullshit.
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People analyze political information in very different ways depending on their levels of political engagement. Scholars argue that politically engaged citizens form coherent cognitive schemas that represent the political world. However, an active and informed electorate is a small minority even in developed competitive democracies where diverse political information is readily available, and citizens’ choice matters. Most citizens do not spend the necessary time and effort to build coherent worldviews. More often than not, their memory contains pools of internally conflicting political ideas. When reminded about an issue by the media, they can retrieve an idea to express an opinion (e.g., support for military spending based on national pride), only to replace it with a contradictory idea when reminded about something else (e.g., criticism of military spending based on personal experience with low-quality healthcare). Autocracies are characterized by even lower levels of political engagement. Due to higher risks, citizens are less likely to engage in civic, online, or protest activism. In addition, due to restricted media freedom and decreased incentives for political learning, they are less politically knowledgeable and motivated.
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Propaganda, Political Apathy, and Authoritarianism in Russia