Books in the Studies in Contemporary Russia series

Analyzing the use of civilization in Russian-language political and media discourses, intellectual and academic production, and artistic practices, the book discusses the rise of civilizational rhetoric in Russia and global politics.

"This book analyses social change in Russia, and in particular the development of a middle class, one of the most important social and political projects of Putin's administration"--

Post-Communist Russia is an instance of the phenomenon of authoritarian modernization project, which is perceived as a set of policies intended to achieve a high level of economic development, while political freedoms remain beyond the current modernization agenda or are postponed to a distant future. Why did Russia (unlike many countries of post-Communist Europe) pursue authoritarian modernization after the Soviet collapse? What is the ideational agenda behind this project and why does it dominate RussiaΓÇÖs post-Communist political landscape? What are the mechanisms of political governance, which maintain this project and how have they adopted and absorbed various democratic institutions and practices? Why has this project brought such diverse results in various policy arenas, and why have the consequences of certain policies become so controversial? Why, despite so many controversies, shortcomings and flaws, has this project remained attractive in the eyes of a large proportion of the Russian elite and ordinary citizens? This volume intended to place some of these questions on the research agenda and propose several answers, encouraging further discussions about the logic and mechanisms of the authoritarian modernization project in post-Communist Russia and its effects on RussiaΓÇÖs politics, economy, and society.

Post-Communist Russia is an instance of the phenomenon of authoritarian modernization project, which is perceived as a set of policies intended to achieve a high level of economic development, while political freedoms remain beyond the current modernization agenda or are postponed to a distant future. This volume encourages further discussions about the logic and mechanisms of the authoritarian modernization project in post-Communist Russia and its effects on Russiäs politics, economy, and society.

This book provides an overview of poverty and well-being in Russia. Increasing poverty rates during the 1990s were followed by greater attention to social policies in the 2000s.What impact did these developments have on the prevalence of poverty in contemporary Russian society?

Building on an original interpretation of social theory and an interdisciplinary approach, this book creates a new paradigm in the Russian studies. Taking a fresh view of Russiäs multiple experiences of modernization, it seeks to explain the Putin era in a completely new way.

This book focuses on Russiäs cultural statecraft in dealing with a number of institutional cultural domains such as education, museums and monuments, high arts and sport. It analyses to what extent Russiäs cultural activities abroad have been used for foreign policy purposes, and perceived as having a political dimension.

This book examines the contemporary communicational practices of journalists and media outlets and the consumption and reception patterns of audiences in Russiäs provinces with an emphasis upon the intergenerational transmission of culture and memory.

Building on an original interpretation of social theory and an interdisciplinary approach, this book creates a new paradigm in the Russian studies. Taking a fresh view of Russia's multiple experiences of modernization, it seeks to explain the Putin era in a completely new way.This book explores the paradoxical and contradictory aspects of Russia, analyzing the energy-dependent economy and hybrid political regime, but also religion, welfare, and culture, and their often complex interrelations. Written by a community of both Western and Russian scholars, this book re-affirms the value of social science when confronting a society that has undergone enormous and costly systematic changes. The Russian elites see modernization narrowly as economic and technological competitiveness. The contributors to this volume see contemporary Russia facing a series of antinomies, which are macro-level dilemmas that cannot be abolished, either by philosophical mediation or by immediate political decisions. As such, they are the tension fields that constitute choices for various competing agencies.This book will be of interest to scholars and students of Russian studies, transition studies, sociology, social policy, political science, energy policy, cultural studies, and stratification studies. Professionals involved in energy, ecology, and security policy will also find this publication a rich source.