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This article examines the development of civil society in Russia. We argue that cultural and societal norms, which developed during the Soviet period, have continued to shape civil society arrangements in the post-Soviet period. We examine how parallel to recent changes in Russia’s economic, political and legal environment, shifts in Russia’s contemporary civil society arrangements have occurred. We argue that, similar to a Russian-style democracy and market economy, Russian-style civil society arrangements are clearly emerging. These changes are explained by the cultural–historic legacies of both the Soviet Union and the subsequent peculiarities of Russia’s economic, social and political transformations since the collapse of the Soviet Union. In this Russian variant of civil society, its agents have developed and continue to maintain strong and dependent relationships on the state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies of postage stamps noted their importance in promoting national identity and the objectives of the state. Neglected in this literature by geographers and others is a discussion of stamp themes and issues during political and economic transitions. A content analysis of issues during the Soviet Union's last three years and Russia's first three years revealed some significant changes. The Soviet Union issued many stamps and sets on a wide variety of topics, including nature, folk items and legends, international ties, and ideology. Russia issued fewer stamps: Nature was important, but religion and issues that promoted Russia's heritage replaced ideology and international themes. Early Russian stamps evoked an 'inward' worldview that promoted a nascent nationalism. In its final years the Soviet Union noted evidence of these changes in priorities and themes with issues that depicted Soviet environmental disasters or honored the individuals killed in the failed Russian coup attempt in August 1991. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the early 1990s after the collapse of the USSR, the new Russian state faced strong nationalist claims for sovereignty and increased autonomy from the side of regional elites. These nationalist challenges at the sub-national level were seriously considered by many experts to be a potential cause for the further breakup of Russia into a number of new independent states. The nationalist movements in ethnic republics like Chechnya, Tatarstan and Sakha-Yakutia, and their contribution to possible scenario of the disintegration of the Russian Federation, have been researched frequently in post-Soviet-studies literature. However, the examination of the impact of nationalistic ideas in ethnically Russian regions (oblasts) at the beginning of the 1990s has not received the same level of attention from political scientists. The Sverdlovsk oblast is a case study for this research. In the early 1990s, the creation of the Urals republic began in this region. This paper argues that the Sverdlovsk oblast's claims for increased autonomy included elements of myth-construction within a sub-state nationalist ideology. The first section of this paper briefly contextualizes the events that occurred during the end of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s that led to the growth of strong sub-nationalist movements in post-Communist Russia. The second section gives details of the Urals republic project, launched in the Sverdlovsk oblast in 1993, and defines the presence of nationalist mythmaking elements in this regional movement. In the conclusion of the paper, I evaluate the impact of the project on the development of federalism and democracy in post-Soviet Russia, and discuss whether its centrifugal tendencies could reemerge in present Russia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the state of scientific research within Russia, particularly focusing upon the role of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS). The author attests that the nation is attempting to revitalize academic research in the sciences and incorporate federal funds into scientific endeavors. The prestige of scientific research during the height of the Soviet Union is discussed, but funds invested in research and development have fallen since the Union’s collapse. A history of Russian economic conditions and related scientific investments is provided, and the author examines the important role that the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) has played in keeping a viable research community alive within the nation. INSET: Uncertain Future for Academy's Biology Experiment.

The article discusses the differing paces of economic reform in Russia and China. China's much greater rate of economic growth is seen as a result of that country introducing reforms earlier, in the late 1970s, versus Russia, which did not see the reforms of "perestroika" until the late 1980s, during the late Soviet period. Also discussed are cultural differences, with the Chinese seen as historically placing greater emphasis than Russians on education. Also discussed is religion and state in the two countries, and differences between Chinese and Soviet communism.

The article discusses how the participation of women in the shuttle trade in the Soviet Union affected their lives. The author discusses the expansion of the shuttle trade, in which products from foreign countries were acquired and illegally peddled in Russian markets, following economic reforms and notes that the majority of peddlers in the shuttle trade were women. She comments on how travel demands of the job often affected women’s health, home life and marriages and how women’s experiences in international trade illustrated challenges in the Soviet transition to capitalism.

The article presents a discussion of political, economic and social trends in Russia, focusing on the country's long history of autocratic rule punctuated by revolution, including the czarist and Soviet eras. An overview of the difficulties Russians face in attempting to establish a culture of democracy is given. A forecast is presented of likely geopolitical developments for the early decades of the 21st century. Relations between Russia and the United States are analyzed. The degree to which Russians identify with the heritage of the Byzantine Empire, and some of the ways in which this could be problematic, are also discussed.

The article, part of a special section on the resurgence of Russia, discusses the varying effects of the political changes of the post-Soviet era on the country's disparate regions. It examines how economic and human geography has been affected by central planning in the Soviet Union, by the economic turmoil of post-communism in the 1990s, and by the economic recovery of the 2000s. Specific topics include Soviet economic isolationism, Russian energy development, land settlement patterns, and regional economic disparities.

This article analyzes poverty in Russia under the Soviet regime and during the economic transition. Under Communism, "monetary poverty" was moderate, and basic needs were more or less satisfied; but economic shortages restricted the supply of goods and services, and thus reduced well-being. The transition process during the 1990s marked the end of shortages but also set off a deterioration of living standards. This has deeply affected the nature of poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses why young people in Russia seek secondary employment. Citizens of Russia were forced to take on supplementary jobs in the late 1980s due to economic crises that struck the Soviet economy. Young people face difficulties in securing jobs due to Russian laws regarding adolescent workers. Gender, age, and social status can also have an impact on young people's employment. A survey of young people in Samara Oblast, Russia indicated that the primary motive for seeking supplementary employment is to support their families. Nearly half of Russian college students have a secondary job. Young people from low-income families make up a higher percentage of young people with secondary jobs. Few young people work at supplementary jobs requiring special knowledge or skills.

The article presents a study on the history and evolution of labor unions in Russia. The author traces labor unions from their beginning in 1905 through periods and events such as the 1917 Revolution, Lenin's leadership, Stalin's industrialization policies, Gorbachev's perestroika and throughout the Soviet Union and Russian Federation's existence. The transition efforts made by trade unions to retain their relationship with the Russian political leaders are reported. The article explains the government's efforts to show support for the working class and the relations between labor and political activity.

Examines the economic condition of Russia ten years after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Factors affecting the economic condition of Russia; Details on the future economic development of Russia; Influence of the expansion of the European Union on the Russian economy.

Discusses the economic condition of the Russian Federation as of January 2003. Factors that contributed to the collapse of the economy of the Soviet Union; Actions taken by the Russian government to improve the economic condition of the country after the collapse of the Soviet Union; Prospects for the transformation of Russia into an economic superpower.

An American specialist on Russian and post-Soviet politics examines regional variations in the privatization of both large and small industrial enterprises in Russia during 1992-1994. Using regional statistical data, both published and unpublished, interviews with actors and documentary materials from the Russian press, the author finds substantial differences among regions in the pace and strategy of privatization. He concludes that the weakness of the central government led it to make compromises that enabled local elites to retain effective control over enterprises in their regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the evolutionary stages of the Russian/Soviet/Russian economic experience. Need for structural transformation and culture evolution; Role of perestroika introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev; Economic stagnation; Lack of Russian permeability to technological flow; Excessive military spending; Rigid centralization; Cultural lag.

The article discusses some aspects of the legacy of the socialist past that make Russia's macropolicy problems rather different from those of the Latin American countries whose stabilizations are often cited as models for the U.S.S.R. successor states. The performance of the "transition economies" varies from very encouraging to agonizing. For the major successor states to the Soviet Union, the transition is proving to be a long, hard road. Recovery is just around the corner, but so far that corner stays at least another block away. Much ink was spilled on "shock therapy" versus "gradualism," but taking a position on this one-dimensional issue is not helpful. Today, the debate has shifted to the issue of whether the degree to which countries succeed in controlling inflation suffices to explain the differences in their growth performance. It is a belief that monetary stability is a necessary condition for satisfactory growth. The reform strategy urged on Russia at the beginning of the decade was to start by liberalizing prices, proceed to transforming enterprises into corporations, and go on to privatization. Price liberalization was to make relative prices reveal "true" relative scarcities; to work properly, it required that there be no more than moderate inflation.

Russian economic reform is still not effective at the institutional and individual levels, levels at which managerial learning is essential for success. In particular, Russian state enterprises, privatized or not, need to learn how to proceed with radical restructuring if they are to become effective. In doing this, they need to be dealt with as collectives in the Russian tradition rather than as corporations in the Western tradition. Russia also needs the managerial learning required to support a massive wave of entrepreneurship -- especially in the creation of distribution and credit organizations. Finally, Russian managers need to be familiarized with a selected set of management skills and techniques relevant to dealing with the challenges of a competitive market, even though their skills in a number of other important management areas are fully recognized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper tests aggregate Variable Elasticity of Substitution production functions for the Soviet economy. The estimated equations show that the elasticity of substitution is less than unity and is decreasing quite rapidly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Charts some of the changes that have taken place since the dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics at the end of 1991. Details on the attempt of Russia to speed the transition to a market-oriented system through price liberalization; Examples of some of the problems examined in the study.

The article presents information on life in industries in the Soviet Union in light of the country's economic situation. The article cites the example of "The Free Labor" Woolen Mill in Moscow to describe industrial conditions in the nation. The mill is old, the machinery and branches are crowded and the machines antedate 1914. The ventilation is practically negligible, the seating is execrable and the lavatories and cloak rooms are ill equipped. On the whole the factories in this country are just as bad. In another section of "The Free Labor" Mill the walls have been practically knocked out. The windows that have been inserted are large and very clean. An entirely new system of mechanical ventilation and new machines, most of them from the U.S. but some from Germany, have been installed. The general set-up is still crowded; the building is still old and unattractive. This factory, partly reconditioned, partly new, is typical of innumerable other factories in the Soviet Union. As a matter of fact, the situation is very strained, and the government applies even such methods of exploitation of workmen as are simply unthinkable in modem times in capitalistic countries.

The article presents information on the growing concern following the inheritance of Arzamas-16, a city with a nuclear weapons research center, by Russia from the Soviet Union following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Possession of the vast nuclear weapons complex rose danger for the Russian civilian market economy and to the international security. The U.S. Congress passed the Nunn-Lugar Amendment to provide funds to help the safe destruction and secure storage of the weapons of mass destruction.

This article reports on a study conducted to determine the political and economic preferences of Russians. The study found that 35 percent of Russians believe that the soviet political regime was better than the democratic system. It is also noted that between a study conducted in 1996 and this study, performed in 2007, this number has gone up. Other statistics related to the study are also presented.