On Theory and Practice of the Volunteer's Participation in Mitigation of Critical Situations: A View from Russia

Abstract

The article analyses an essence, character and forms of the volunteer's organizations participation in the struggle with the 'accidents' i.e. with critical situations (hereafter the CS) generated by the outside and inside forces and contradictions paying special attention to the socially-constructed CS. The authors set forth the foundations of the theory of an emergence and development of the CS, defines their main archetypes, and offers a differentiation of their three phases of development: initial, the CS as such, and the mitigation of their immediate and far-reaching natural, social and technological consequences. A necessity of the volunteers' and individual civil rescuers participation in the various phases of the CS and in coping with their social and other consequences is substantiated. A brief history of this type of civic organizations in Russia of the XX and at the beginning of the XXI is set forth; a necessity of differentiation of functions of a state i.e. its rescue forces and civil society volunteers' organization is explained. The article gives a preliminary estimation of an efficiency of the use of various methods of the CS studies and their consequences. The authors offer a preliminary typology of the volunteers' organizations with a focus on their universal and international character.