Deirdre Ruscitti Harshman – författare

As a result of mass urbanization from the late nineteenth century onward, an acute housing shortage in Russia and the associated "housing question" rapidly grew to such a large scale that no single group was able to tackle it in its entirety. Complicated, ideologically fraught negotiations and solutions emerged, failed, and occasionally partially succeeded over time. The Unruly Everyday unearths and detangles the contours of this history, exploring what it tells us not just about Soviet and Russian housing but about the messy process by which society changes.Beyond tracing contestations about housing in particular, Deirdre Ruscitti Harshman explores how the concept of the "everyday" was used to critique the limitations of the present and to imagine alternatives. She argues that the ways various groups worked, sometimes collaboratively and sometimes contentiously, through these negotiations transcended neat pre- and postrevolutionary binaries, in terms of both chronology and ideology. The issues and local responses remained largely the same no matter what type of central government controlled the Kremlin. Critically, the housing problem was instead addressed by the development of various forms of local power—whose very existence and capacities undermine the perception of both tsarist and Soviet Russia as autocratic, highly centralized states.

Russian Social Thought in the 19th Century is a comprehensive introduction to pre-Soviet Russian social theory, tracing its evolution through the works of influential thinkers such as Pyotr Chaadaev, Leo Mechnikov, Mikhail Bakunin, Pyotr Kropotkin, and Pavel Lilienfeld. This pioneering text weaves together a chronological narrative that highlights the overlapping contributions of these intellectuals, rediscovering the broader roots of sociology within Russia’s rich historical and philosophical landscape. By synthesizing key ideas and movements, the book provides an indispensable foundation for understanding the development of Russian social thought and its enduring impact on global intellectual traditions.Designed for an academic and scholarly audience, this book is an essential resource for students, educators, and researchers in Russian social theory, philosophy, sociology, history, and political science. It invites readers to delve deeply into the intellectual currents of 19th-century Russia, offering fresh insights and critical perspectives for those seeking to expand their understanding of social theory’s historical dimensions.