Russia As A Developing Society

Modern societies develop very quickly. However, along with rapid economic growth, comes risk to the economic system. That is why there is a need for study of the institutional base on which modern society is built to enable more effective management and better forecasting for further development. Existing studies and publications on the economic and legal foundations of modern society do not take into account the institutional aspects of its development and thus do not fully reflect its sense and content. This book aims to fill this gap in scientific knowledge. This book views the economic and legal foundations of modern society through the lens of a new institutional theory in relation to Russia. The author focuses on Russia – a unique economic system with a developing market, involved in the processes of international economic globalization and integration. The author analyzes actual problems and perspectives of the development of the modern Russian economy through the prism of a new institutional theory. Institutional theory allows for determination and analyzing foundation of society functioning, and “rules of the game”. Without understanding the institutional foundations, consideration of applied issues of development of economy will be fragmentary, as it would be impossible to understand the logic of existing status quo and perspectives of its change in future. This book should fill this gap in modern scientific knowledge.

Undertakes an analysis of the development of civil society in post-Soviet Russia. This book analyzes the Russian context and considers the roles of the media, business, organized crime, the church, the village, and the Putin administration in shaping the terrain of public life.

The author analyzes the history of the USSR from a new perspective. Detailed examination of ideological heritage of the XIXth and XXth centuries shows new aspects of the Russian Revolution.

Civil Society, Social Change and a New Popular Education in Russia is a detailed account of contemporary issues that draws upon recent survey research conducted by the Institute of Sociology, Russian Academy of Sciences, as well as from secondary published work in both Russian and English. The book explores how social change and developments in civil society are occurring in Russia and the role played by a new popular education. The right to lifelong learning is guaranteed by the Russian state, as it was by the Soviet Union, where formal education, based on communist ideology, emphasised the needs of the state over those of individuals. In practice a wide range of educational needs, many of which relate to coping with changing economic, social and technological circumstances, are being met by non-governmental providers, including commercial companies, self-help groups, and community and neighbourhood clubs. This book discusses how this new popular education is both an example of developing civil society and stimulates its further development. However, as the book points out, it is also part of a growing educational divide, where motivated, articulate people take advantage of new opportunities, while disadvantaged groups such as the unemployed and the rural poor continue to be excluded.

Most recent research seeks to explain contemporary changes in Russia by analysing the decisions of Russian leaders, oligarchs and politicians based in Moscow. This book examines another Russia, one of ordinary people changing their environment and taking opportunities to provoke societal changes in small towns and the countryside. Russia is a resource-rich society and the country’s strategy and institutional structure are built on the most valuable of these resources: oil and gas. Analysing the implications of this situation at the local level, this book offers chapters on resource use, local authorities, enterprises, poverty and types of individual, as well as a final chapter which places local societies within the framework of the Russian politicised economy. Based on extensive empirical data gathered through more than 400 semi-structured interviews with entrepreneurs, teachers, social workers and those working for the local authorities, this book sheds light on the role of local activity in the development of Russian society and is essential reading for students and scholars interested in Russia and its politics.