Risk
Perception Models and Risk Values in Russia.
Konstantin
Feofanov, Lecturer, Faculty of Sociology, Moscow State M.V. Lomonosov
University, Member of the New York Academy of Sciences, Russian Federation,
Moscow; and Olga Feofanova, Post-Graduate Student, Moscow State M.V. Lomonosov
University, Russian Federation, Moscow; Corresponding address: P.O. Box 257, 103051 Moscow, Russia; telephone
+7-095-2504630, 2517524; fax +7-095-2504155; e-mail: mediarts@online.ru
Russia
has an extremely diverse and unusual, compared to western and eastern European
countries, risk perception characteristics that is caused by Russia's huge
territorial extent and cultural differences. The paper based on preliminary
research attempts at analysis of both "objective" and
"subjective" risk perception aspects with accent on the
"subjective" ones, namely on their connection with human values.
At
the first or "objective" stage of the research, through methods of
statistical analysis, it was found that Russian risk perception is influenced by
high and still increasing degree of accidents and their negative impact.
(Caused, in turn, by imperfection of technical systems, mistakes of exploitation
of potentially dangerous plants, unsatisfactory technical measures of preventing
and localizing emergencies, and serious personnel deficiencies.) Despite the
disposition of most Russian territory in zones of high danger of natural
disasters, it was unexpectedly revealed that the most Russian accidents have
technogenic origin.
Risk
communication in Russia is also highly influenced by Chernobyl disaster and
former military nuclear probations led to the fear of "radiophoby" and
real global radiational background. Serious danger of terrorism and deliberate
harm at Nuclear Power Stations and equipment deficiencies caused by economic
difficulties became a relatively new factors of safety threat.
Under
these objective circumstanses arranged from statistical analysis, at the second
or "subjective" stage of the research, the very risk perception by
both professionals and laymen was studied through method of "expert
interviews" in different parts of Russia. Four major patterns of risk
perception were revealed, common for "megalopolises" vs. "little
towns", "European" vs. "Asian" Russia. The risk
perception patterns do not pretend to cover all manifold risk values but help to
better understand them. Detailed description of these patterns and their various
connections with the above objective risks are analysed in the paper. E.g.
contrast to both "megalopolises" like Moscow or St. Petersburg and to
cities or towns of "European part of Russia", risk perception in
"little towns" and "Asian Russia" is characterised by many
"old-Soviet myths and stereotypes" as well as Utopian measures
suggested by respondents to improve the situation.
Through
the expert interviews, it is confirmed that risk perception in Russia highly
correlates with social and political values of people. The mutual dependency of
risk perception patterns and social values of people is discussed in detail.
The
findings from both statistical analysis and expert interviews, despite their
ability to verify hypotheses, are still a preliminary stage of the further
quantitative research planned by the Group for Risk Research of lecturers and
students of several Moscow Universities targeted at building the social theory
of risk perception.
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