Power Distance in Germany and Russia: Then vs Now

The element I will be discussing is power distance. Power distance can be defined as how much members of society expect and accept that power is unequally distributed. High power distance means people are accepting of the hierarchical structure and low power distance means that the people want equality in power distribution and for injustice to be addressed.

Two countries' whose power distances interest me are Germany and Russia. Both had infamous pasts with extremely high power distance levels. This was only the case because the governments at the time were totalitarian and created a hostile environment through sheer force and fear.

I'll begin with Germany. During the Nazi Regime that lasted from 1933-1945, the German people were brainwashed to hate Jews and other "subhuman races". The hierarchical structure of this era was that blue-eyed, blonde hair people of Aryan descent were the best in the land. Germans were expected to believe and adhere to this untrue principle or risk being imprisoned or killed ("Nazi Racism.").

I do not have specific empirics on Germany's power distance during the Nazi Regime, but I am pretty confident the numbers were fairly high. Looking at Germany nowadays, however, the story is quite different. Having put the Nazi Party and East/West Germany behind it, the Fatherland now measures a modest 35 on the Power Distance Index Scale (Hofstede).

Compared to their ancestors of World War II, a new generation of Germans has grown up believing that people should be treated equally in all aspects of life. This is an amazing turnaround for a country that was systematically trying to kill off an entire race and take over the world approximately 76 years ago.

Now I am going to take a look at Russia. Similar to Germany, Russia operated on brute force and fear ever since the Bolsheviks took over and made the country into a Soviet state in 1917. When Joseph Stalin ascended to power in 1924, the power distance of the country was through the roof! Stalin killed millions of Russians ruthlessly! One callous act of Stalin's involved him starving and killing over seven million Ukrainians simply because they sought independence from the Soviet Union ("The History Place - Genocide in the 20th Century: Stalin's Forced Famine 1932-33.").

Russia's communist government at this time did tell people they were all "equal", but of course this was not exactly the case. Russia did not approve of Nazi Germany's antisemitism policies, but did embark on some antisemitic endeavors of its own. No matter how much the Russian people disapproved of Stalin and the direction he was taking Russia, they knew they could not speak for fear of imprisonment or death. The power distance of Russia was most likely equal to that of Germany's at this time.

Nowadays, Russia is fairly different than the bloodthirsty, nuclear-driven world power it was during World War II and the Cold War. The people, however, are still fairly accepting of a government that is slowly trying to poke some trouble with the United States and other parts of the world. On the Power Distance Index Scale, Russia has a 93 (Hofstede). Whether it is the government or the way the generation has been raised, Russia's people find no problem with their government and their place in it.

Both these countries have troubled pasts and I would say if anything that Germany has made significant process. The people of the Fatherland are much more inclined to support equality according to the scale and also demand justice for those it has barred from. Russia, on the other hand, needs some work. It was only a bit over 20 years ago that communism fell in Russia, so maybe the people are still trying to cope with this concept of economic freedom and being able to move up in society through hard work.

Though the power distances differ tremendously, both countries have come a long ways since World War II and hopefully neither of these two nations will be causing any more global conflicts in the years to come (even though Russia has been dabbling these last couple of years).


Sources:

          Hofstede, Geert. "THE HOFSTEDE CENTRE." Germany. Web. 30 Jan. 2015. <http://geert-hofstede.com/germany.html>.

          "Nazi Racism." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. United States Holocaust Memorial Council. Web. 30 Jan. 2015. <http://www.ushmm.org/outreach/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007679>.

          "The History Place - Genocide in the 20th Century: Stalin's Forced Famine 1932-33." The History Place - Genocide in the 20th Century: Stalin's Forced Famine 1932-33. Web. 30 Jan. 2015. <http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/genocide/stalin.htm>.