Youth in Putin's Russia

This edited volume sheds light on the lives of young people in various central and peripheral regions of Russia, including youth belonging to different ethnic and religious groups and who have differing views on contemporary politics. While the literature continues to grow regarding the inclusion of youth in global contexts, the specific cultural, political, and economic circumstances of being young in Russia make the Russian case unique. Chapter authors focus on four key aspects that characterize the youth experience in contemporary Russia: cultural practices and value affiliations, citizenship and patriotism, ethnic and religious diversity, and the labor market. This collection will appeal to readers interested in contemporary life in Russia and looking for the latest empirical material on youth identities and cultures, as well as those looking to learn about the critical viewpoint of local academics regarding the ongoing processes in contemporary Russian society.

“Youth in Putin’s Russia is a remarkable exploration of the diversity, inclusivity, and richness of the social and cultural life of urban youth in contemporary Russia as well as the inequality, exclusion, and political regulation of activity that young people experience. Drawing on new empirical data from six cities across the Russian Federation—including survey data, ethnographic case studies, in-depth interviews, and sociological documentary film—the authors present the most diverse and holistic picture of the everyday worlds of young people to be published to date.

Theoretically the volume guides us through the historiography of youth culture in the post-Soviet period and formulates a fresh understanding of the current period in which classic subcultural forms are opening up to adoption and adaption by ever more diverse crowds but in ways that form new ‘solidarities.’ Youth cultural space is demonstrated to be one in which young people encounter and navigate social, including ethnic, difference and in which ethnicity and religion can act not only as a barrier to inclusion but a resource for cultural expression and social mobilisation.

The book informs and uplifts as it provides a unique insight into how young people are leading the way in meeting a key challenge of our times—how to live together in diversity.”
—Hilary Pilkington, Professor of Sociology, University of Manchester, UK

Elena Omelchenko is Director of the Centre for Youth Studies at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, St. Petersburg, Russia. She has authored and co-authored seventeen monographs on globalization of youth cultures, ethnic and religious identities of youth, drug (ab)use cultures, the body and sexuality, xenophobia, and migrant youth. Currently, she is working on developing the concepts of ‘solidarity’ and ‘cultural youth scene’ for the study of cultural practices of Russian youth.