Last Thursday Georgetown’s Democracy and Governance program and the National Endowment for Democracy brought Larry Diamond to Washington DC to talk about his new book The Spirit of Democracy: The Struggle to Build Free Societies Throughout the World.

One of Diamond’s main arguments is that good governance may be the key to consolidating gains in recently democratizing states. Unlike elections, good governance is one of the least sexy aspects of democracy. It is such broad, ephemeral aspect of democracy that its impact of on a citizen’s life regularly goes unnoticed. Functioning public transportation, clean drinking water, transparent permit application procedures, and honest public servants are all aspects of good governance that most of us probably take for granted. However, it is the quotidian nature of good governance can impact citizens’ preference for a government system. If a society associates corruption and instability with with democracy, they may be tempted to support other governing systems. Sadly, the turmoil of the post-Soviet experience for Russia has lead many in Russian society to seek stability through Putin rather than work to improve their nascent democracy.

Two touching stories in the NYTimes caught my eye this weekend. The stories detailed the struggles of two separate Russians fighting against the corrupt Russian state in order to improve governance and rule of law. Ivan Pavlov and Kirill Formanchuk have something else in common besides their seemingly futile struggles - they were both severely beaten for their work. While one can not say that there is any direct link between Putin’s Kremlin and these attacks, these stories are demonstrative of the broader political environment that Putin’s rule has brought to Russia.

Ivan was targeted because he sought to ensure that the public has access to basic government information. For example, he recently won a court case to require the government to freely publish the standards governing manufacturing sector. Such basic information is guarded by the state agencies because the civil servants can solicit bribes and other rents in exchange for the information. For this he was attacked at night and almost run over as the criminals left the scene.

Kirill sought to fight corruption against police shaking down drivers. Driving in Russia can at times be a hazardous activity. Law abiding citizens face threats from bribe-seeking cops and aggressive drivers who know that they can bribe the police $5 - $20 if they get stopped by the police. This everyday corruption has affected more people has vehicle ownership has increased in recent years. As a result, regular citizens are beginning to form civil society organizations to protect themselves from these shakedowns and to seek reform from the government. After confronting the police on multiple occasions, Kiril was detained and thrown into a cell when he sought to register his car. In the following days he was viciously beaten.

The daily struggle of local actors such as Kirik and Ivan make up a large portion of the spirit of democracy. Seeking to protect your rights and improve the government for all of society can sometimes be a dangerous activity in Russia. While so much of my daily reading about Russia depresses me, stories like these instill in me a sense of hope for Russia. As long as this spirit stays alive, it will find new life when they Russian people realize the extent of the damage of their Faustian bargain of stability through acquiescence to authoritarian rule.