Through compelling and insightful analysis of the Russian case, this book explores the role that social welfare plays in regime transitions. It examines the role that gender and social welfare has played in Russia's post-communist political evolution from Yeltsin's assumption of the presidency to Putin's return for a third term as president in 2012

As the Soviet communist regime gave way to democracy, the emergence of an entirely new political and social landscape had the potential to turn Russian society upside down. In Mothers and Soldiers: Organizing Men and Women in 1990s Russia, Amy Caiazza looks at the effects of this seismic change on gender roles, and specifically the role of women in a newly democratic Russia. By observing through a gendered lens institutions like the military, and the process of making public policy, Caiazza finds that despite the institutional disruption, the pattern of gender role ideologies maintained continuity from the former times while at the same time embracing aspects of Western feminism.

This book examines civic activism, democratization and gender in contemporary Russian society. It describes the character and central organizing principles of Russian democratic civic life, considering how it has developed since the Soviet period, and analyzing the goals and identities of important civic groups - including trade unions - and the meanings they have acquired in the context of wider Russian society. In particular, Suvi Salmenniemi investigates the gender dimensions, both masculine and feminine, of socio-political participation in Russia, considering what kinds of gendered meanings are given to civic organizations and formal politics, and how femininity and masculinity are represented in this context. Exploring the role of state institutions in the development of democratic civic life, the volume shows how, under the increasingly authoritarian Putin regime and its policy of 'managed democracy', independent civic activism is both thriving yet at the same constrained. Based on extensive fieldwork research, it provides much needed information on how Russians themselves view these developments, both from the perspective of civic activists and the local authorities.

Both Russia and Turkey were pioneering examples of feminism in the early 20th Century, when the Bolshevik and Republican states embraced an ideology of women's equality. Yet now these countries have drifted towards authoritarianism and the concept of gender is being invoked to reinforce tradition, nationalism and to oppose Western culture. Gökten Dogangün's book explores the relationship between the state and gender equality in Russia and Turkey, covering the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 and the Republican Revolution of 1923 and highlighting the very different gender climates that have emerged under the leaderships of Putin and Erdogan. The research is based on analysis of legal documents, statistical data and reports, as well as in-depth interviews with experts, activists and public officials. Dogangün identifies a climate of 'neo-traditionalism' in contemporary Russia and 'neo-conservatism' in contemporary Turkey and examines how Putin and Erdogan's ambitions to ensure political stability, security and legitimacy are achieved by promoting commonly held 'family values', grounded in religion and tradition. The book reveals what it means to be a woman in Turkey and Russia today and covers key topics such as hostility towards feminism, women's employment, domestic violence, motherhood and abortion. Dogangün provides the first comparative study that seeks to understand the escalation of patriarchy and the decline of democracy which is being witnessed across the world.

This book looks at Russian women’s mobilization and agency during the two periods of transformation, the turn of the 19th-20th century and the 20th – 21st century. Bringing together the parallels between the two great transformations, it focuses on both the continuities and breaks and, importantly, it shows them from the grassroots point of view, emphasizing the local factor. Chapters show the international and transnational aspects of Russian women’s agency of different spheres and different historical periods. The book goes on to raise new research questions such as the evaluation and comparison of Soviet society and contemporary Russia from the point of view of gender and women’s possibilities in society.

Over the last two decades our understanding of the relationship of gender, politics and the state has been transformed almost beyond recognition by the mutual interrogation of feminism and political science. This volume provides an overview of this dynamic and growing field, which reflects both its expanding empirical scope and the accompanying theoretical development and debate. The first three essays focus primarily on conceptual and theoretical issues: the meaning of 'gender'; the state's role in the construction of gender within the public and private sphere; and the political representation of gender differences within liberal democracy. The remaining six provide analyses of more concrete issues of state policy and participation in differeing national political contexts: abortion politics in Ireland; the local politics of prostitution in Britain, the impact on women's political participation of economic change in China, Latin America and political change in Russia, and the gender impact of state programmes of land reform.

This volume highlights the ways in which scholarly analysis has contributed to a rich understanding of the links between spreading democracy, gender equality, and environmental protection. It includes cutting-edge debates on the meaning of democracy and its development, as well as the response of democracies to environmental and gender concerns.