Rethinking Class in Russia

'Tackling one of the most difficult questions in contemporary Russian Studies, this collection asks: "What is the meaning of 'class ' in post-socialist society?" Drawing on extensive empirical research, individual contributors generate a rich and diverse picture of the lived experience of class in contemporary Russia. The volume is an excellent contribution to our understanding of why and how class still matters.' Hilary Pilkington, University of Warwick, UK 'This book is a valuable contribution to the literature on social inequality and transformation in Russia and beyond. The volume presents a rich array of perspectives on class identities and practices, with a focus on qualitative approaches (primarily interview data) and with attention to working class, middle class, and (to a lesser extent) elite experiences... this is a rich collection that should be relevant for scholars of Russia and of class transformation more broadly.' The Russian Review 'The contributors provide teasing glimpses of how class or, more accurately, stratification, operates in multiple ways. Postsocialist inequality remains important but understudied, and this book provides useful fodder for thinking more creatively and broadly about this topic, which is fine for undergraduates first studying this subject or for more advanced scholars tackling these issues for the first time. I intend to make use of this book the next time I teach my course on postsocialism.' Slavic Review 'The book can be relied on to describe many relatively unexplored and little known aspects of contemporary Russian society. The chapters are well written and all have extensive references to further reading, with some useful pointers to Russian research. ... This book provides the reader with some good accounts based on original research of the social changes in Russia following the post-Communist transformation.' Slavonica

Suvi Salmenniemi is a postdoctoral fellow at the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies, University of Helsinki, Finland, and author of Democratization and Gender in Contemporary Russia

Introduction: Rethinking Class in Russia, Suvi Salmenniemi; Chapter 1 Class Analysis in the USSR and Contemporary Russia, Harri Melin, Suvi Salmenniemi; Part I Class in Public Discourses; Chapter 2 Business for Pleasure: Elite Women in the Russian Popular Media, Saara Ratilainen; Chapter 3 Post-Soviet Khoziain: Class, Self and Morality in Russian Self-help Literature, Suvi Salmenniemi; Chapter 4 Doing Class in Social Welfare Discourses: Unfortunate Families in Russia, Elena Iarskaia-Smirnova, Pavel Romanov; Chapter 5 Political Part ies and the Construction of Social Class in Russia, Sirke Mkinen; Part II Classed Practices; Chapter 6 Making and Managing Class: Employment of Paid Domestic Workers in Russia, Anna Rotkirch, Olga Tkach, Elena Zdravomyslova; Chapter 7 We are Not Rich Enough to Buy Cheap Things: Clothing Consumption of the St. Petersburg Middle Class, Olga Gurova; Chapter 8 Womens Use of Legal Advice and Claims in Contemporary Russia: The Impact of Gender and Class, Vikki Turbine; Part III Living Class; Chapter 9 Wealth Brings Health? Class, Body and Health in Russia, Marja Rytknen, Ilkka Pietil; Chapter 10 Class Differences and Social Mobility amongst College-educated Young People in Russia, Elena Trubina; Chapter 11 Re-inventing Themselves? Gender, Employment and Subjective Well-being amongst Young Working-class Russians, Charles Walker; Chapter 12 The Excluded Class: Russias Forgotten Middle-aged Men, John Round; Chapter 13 Afterword: Thinking and Rethinking Class, Steph Lawler;