Russian civil society : a critical assessment /

This edited volume is a thoughtfully compiled collection of essays dealing with civil society, a subject that everyone in Russian studies acknowledges as being important. Few books have covered the subject in as encompassing and expansive a way. The editors wisely take a parsimonious definition of civil society, through which they aim to give readers better access to the diverse types and results emerging from Russian civil activism rather than ascertaining the impact on democratization. Future works should focus on such outcome-based analyses, but this first attempt is necessary since there is little in the existing literature that shows the variety of Russian civic activism. The work is well written. Part 3, comprising case studies, teeters close to being too sociological, perhaps losing sight of the larger questions meant to infuse each individual contribution. It is important how many women scholars contributed to this volume; fully two-thirds of the work is done by them. This is only a positive development. Too many edited volumes in the Russian studies literature use token appearances by female analysts. This volume therefore represents a long overdue advancement. ^BSumming Up: Highly recommended. General readers, lower-division undergraduates and above. M. D. Crosston Clemson University