Bücher der Reihe Routledge Contemporary Russia and Eastern Europe Series

Presents the history of Russian peasant women in the 20th century in English. This book offers a comprehensive overview of regulations concerning rural women: their employment patterns; marriages, divorces and family life; and, issues with health and raising children.

In Soviet times, anthropologists in the Soviet Union were closely involved in the stateΓÇÖs work of nation building. They helped define official nationalities, and gathered material about traditional customs and suitably heroic folklore, whilst at the same time refraining from work on the reality of contemporary Soviet life. Since the end of the Soviet Union anthropology in Russia has been transformed. International research standards have been adopted, and the focus of research has shifted to include urban culture and difficult subjects, such as xenophobia. However, this transformation has been, and continues to be, controversial, with, for example, strongly contested debates about the relevance of Western anthropology and cultural theory to post-Soviet reality. This book presents an overview of how anthropology in Russia has changed since Soviet times, and showcases examples of important Russian anthropological work. As such, the book will be of great interest not just to Russian specialists, but also to anthropologists more widely, and to all those interested in the way academic study is related to prevailing political and social conditions.

This book examines how membership of the European Union has affected life in the ten former communist countries of Eastern Europe that are now members of the European Union. For each country, political, economic and social changes are described and discussed, together with people's perceptions of the effects of EU membership. Overall, the book shows how the benefits of EU membership have differed between different countries, and how perceptions about the benefits also differ and have changed over time.

This book compares and contrasts Georgiäs First Republic, which lasted from 1918 until suppressed by Bolshevik Soviet forces in 1921, with the present Georgian Republic, which gained its independence when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.

A postcommunist condition has arisen from the fall of the Berlin Wall and later the Soviet Empire: this book looks at how this condition has manifested itself globally in the production of post-communist film. It argues post-communism is a shared experience on a geopolitical level, unlimited by national state borders, and examines postcommunist cross culturalism and global totalitarianism within film.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of Chinese migration to the countries of the former Soviet bloc ¿ Russia, Eastern Europe and countries of Central Asia ¿ exploring how the migration has come about, discussing the motivation of the migrants and examining the significant contribution the migrants are making.

Explores the religion and world outlook of the Telengits of Altai. This book provides an account of the Altai, its peoples, clans and political structures, focusing particularly on the Telengits, whilst also considering the different elements of religious belief exhibited among these native peoples.

The Western field of oriental studies and orientalism - criticised by Edward Said among others for encouraging the orient to be viewed in a particular way - has a counterpart in Russia and the Soviet Union. This book examines this Russian/Soviet intellectual tradition of oriental scholarship covering Islamic history and Muslim literatures of the USSR republics of Central Asia and the Caucasus.

Presents an assessment of the main processes and dilemmas of regional development and regional policy in the European Union member states in Central and Eastern Europe, highlighting the difficulties of balancing the demands for rapid growth and development with the need for restructuring and development to conform to EU common policies.

Provides an examination of the phenomenon of skinheads, explaining its nature and its significance, and assessing how far Russian skinhead subculture is the 'lumpen' end of the extreme nationalist ideological spectrum. This book also provides a practical example of how to investigate youth subculture over an extended period.

Analyses Russian-European interaction, including Russia's relations with the Baltic States. This book discusses the development of Russia's approach to the security architecture in Europe resulting from the enlargement of both the EU and NATO, and assesses the prospects for greater Russian engagement in European security frameworks.

The purpose of this book is to move beyond the approach which views energy as a purely geopolitical tool of the Russian state and assumes a 'one size fits all' approach to Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) energy security.

Presents a comprehensive introduction to the Caucasus. This title covers the geography and the historical development of the region, economics, politics and government, population, religion and society, culture and traditions, and conflicts and international relations. It is written in an accessible style and requires no prior knowledge.

Provides a comprehensive survey of the development of capitalism in Russia from the collapse of the Soviet economic system. This book includes the results of substantial research on the state of a range of Russian enterprises. It discusses the wider theoretical implications of the Russian experience for other transitional economies.

During the first decade of the 21st century, a remarkable phenomenon swept through the former Soviet Union changing the political, social and cultural landscape. This book examines the significance of these regime-change processes for the post-Soviet world in particular and for global politics in the 21st century.

Provides an examination of Islamic radicalisation in the Muslim republics of the former Soviet Union since the end of Communism. This book analyzes the sources and social base of Islamic radicalisation in the region, and identifies the different dynamics at work and how these relate to each other. It assesses the level of foreign involvement.

Examines the place of multilateralism in Russia's foreign policy and Russia's engagement with multilateral institutions. This book examines Russia's role and relationship with the UN, NATO, G8, EU, OSCE, and Commonwealth of Independent States, covering a range of issue areas including nuclear non-proliferation and trade.

Military action in South Ossetia, growing tensions with the United States and NATO, and Russia's relationship with the European Union demonstrate how the issue of Russian nationalism is increasingly at the heart of the international political agenda. This book considers a wide range of aspects of Russian nationalism, focusing on the Putin period.

Describes the strategies used by President Putin from 2000 onwards to recreate 'Greater Russia', that is a Russia that controls most of the territory of the former Soviet Union. This title shows the subtlety of the means of control, often through creating economic dependencies in the 'near abroad'.

Considers the challenges of democracy building in post-Soviet Armenia, and the role of civil society. This book explores how the growth of civil society depends on a country's historical and socio-cultural context; and how far foreign aid, provided with conditions which encouraged the promotion of civil society, had an impact on democratization.

Examining the role of dramatized narratives in Russian television, this book stresses the ways in which the Russian government under Putin use primetime television to express an understanding of what it means to be Russian, answering key questions of national identity for modern Russians in dealing with their history: What really happened to us?

This book provides an overview of the state of Russia after the 2012 presidential election. It considers a wide range of both domestic and international issues, examining both the run up to and the consequences of the election. It covers political, economic and social topics. It assesses the political scene both before and after the election, and discusses the nature of and likely future of democracy in Russia. The election 's impact on the Russian economy is discussed in detail, as are Russia 's relationships with the United States, the European Union and other parts of the world.