Do Voluntary Associations Matter for the Spread of Civic Activism in Russia? Matching Technique Applied to Survey Data

Objective This article develops an empirical model that tests whether in post‐communist Russia prior membership in a civil society organization (CSO) motivates civic activism. Revisiting Tocquevillian notions of a nurturing effect by formal civil society organizations of civic activism, we aim to help explain recent research findings showing that civic activism is sustainable and vital in Russia. Methods To test the main hypothesis of the study, we use the cross‐sectional survey of Russians aged 18 and older in the fall of 2014 (N = 1,500) representing 43 regions conducted by the Russian Civil Society Monitoring Survey of the Higher School of Economics' Centre for Studies of Civil Society and the Nonprofit Sector (2006–). We use the propensity score matching (PSM) technique to estimate the main effects. We also show that the effect of unobserved factors on our PSM estimates is limited using Rosenbaum bounds analysis. Results The PSM analysis suggests that for all four indicators of civic activism, that is, willingness to integrate with other members of society, participation in tenant meetings, engagement in charity activities, and engagement in home improvement, CSO participation positively impacts civic activism. The impact varies from a 7.2 to 15.8 percent higher propensity of civic activism for CSO participants. Conclusion We conclude that prior participation in a CSO can have a motivating influence on civic activism such as charity work, residential home improvement, willingness to integrate with other members of the society, and participation in tenant meetings.