”Vapauden nurkassa?”

Pietarin ympäristöjärjestöt ja luottamuksen merkitys toimintatilan rakentumisessa

Abstract

In the Soviet Union, the movement for natural conservation
offered people a channel to act politically.
By using environmental NGOs (non-governmental
organisations) in St. Petersburg as an example,
this article examines what remains of this relative
freedom in contemporary Russia and what are the
parameters that define the sphere of influence for
these organisations. The importance of confidence
for the emergence of this influence is also discussed.
Findings indicate that the activities of environmental
NGOs in Russia are determined mostly by the
confidence they have in their own possibilities and
in other organisations and actors than by any external
conditions. For this confidence to emerge,
the NGOs need mainly non-economic resources,
which help them to evade the vicious circle created
by their dependency on authorities.