Varieties of Russian Activism

Jeremy Morris is Professor of Global Studies at Aarhus University. He is author most recently of Everyday Post-Socialism: Working-Class Communities in the Russian Margins.Andrei Semenov is Senior Researcher at the Institute of Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. His work appears in Russian Politics, Social Movement Studies, and Post-Soviet Affairs.Regina Smyth is Professor of Political Science at Indiana University. She is author most recently of Elections, Protest, and Authoritarian Regime Stability: Russia 2008-2020.

"Despite decades of Putin, it is too simplistic to assert that authoritarianism has eliminated Russian activism, especially in relation to everyday life. Instead, we must build an awareness of diverse efforts to mobilize citizens to better understand how activism is shaped by and, in turn, shapes the regime. Varieties of Russian Activism focuses on a broad range of collective actions, from labor unions to housing renovation, religion, electoral politics, minority language rights, and urban planning. Contributors draw attention to significant forms of grassroots politics that have not received sufficient attention in scholarship, or that deserve fresh examination. The volume shows that Russians find novel ways to redress everyday problems and demand new services. Together, these essays interrogate what kinds of practices can be defined as activism in a fast-changing, politically volatile society. An engaging collection, Varieties of Russian Activism unites leading scholars in the common aim of approaching the embeddedness of civic activism in the conditions of everyday life, connectedness, and rising society-state expectations"--

Acknowledgments1. Everyday Activism: Tracking the Evolution of Russian State and Society Relations, by Jeremy Morris, Andrei Semenov, and Regina SmythIntroduction to Part 1: The Building Blocks of Everyday Activism: Identity, Networks, and Social Trust2. Cultural Production as Activism: National Theaters, Philharmonics, and Cultural Organizations in Russia's Regional Capitals, by Katie L. Stewart3. The Promotion of Minority Languages in Russia's Ethnic Republics: Social Media and Grassroots Activities, by Guzel Yusupova4. From Neighbors to Activists: Shared Grievances and Collective Solutions, by Regina Smyth, Madeline McCann, and Katherine HitchcockIntroduction to Part 2: Organizational Roles in Mobilization for Activism: Communication, Cooperation, and Conjunction5. Social Activism in the Russian Orthodox Church, by John P. Burgess6. The River of Urban Resistance: Renovation and New Civic Infrastructures in Moscow, by Anna Zhelnina7. Activists and Experiential Entanglement in Russian Labor Organizing, by Jeremy Morris8. Skateboarding Together: Generational Civic Activism and Nontransition to Politics in Sosnovyi Bor, by Anna A. Dekalchuk and Ivan S. GrigorievIntroduction to Part 3: Institutional Environment and Opportunity Structures for Urban Activism9. Policy Activism in Urban Governance: The Case of Master Plan Development in Perm, by Eleonora Minaeva10. Urban Planning and Civic Activism, by Carola Neugebauer, Andrei Semenov, Irina Shevtsova, and Daniela Zupan11. Manipulating Public Discontent in Russia: The Role of Trade Unions in the Protests against Pension Reform, by Irina Meyer-Olimpieva12. Active Urbanites in an Authoritarian Regime: Aleksei Navalny's Presidential Campaign, by Jan Matti Dollbaum, Andrei Semenov, and Elena Sirotkina13. Why Grassroots Activism Matters, by Jeremy Morris, Andrei Semenov, and Regina SmythIndex