CULTURAL AND SYMBOLIC PRODUCTION
Everyday Aesthetics in the Soviet Flat
(2004-2005)
Joint project with the University of Sheffield (UK).
Coordinators: Katerina Gerasimova (CISR), Susan Reid (University of Sheffield).
The project was devoted to the new home-dwellers of the 1960s, their practices and their constructions of the notions of "home" and "cosiness". The interiors of apartments, home consumption, interpretations of the "modern apartment", decorating space-acquisition skills, and everyday aesthetics were studied. Field research included interviews and photographs of interiors and home objects.
Participants from CISR: Katerina Gerasimova, Elena Bogdanova, Alla Bolotova, Sofia Tchouikina.
Supported by the Leverhulme Trust.
St. Petersburg in Search of a New European Identity:
The Interplay of Soviet and Imperial Memory
(2004-2005)
The project aimed to analyse materials (in-depth interviews, newspaper publications) collected within other projects and concerned with the activities of the cultural institutions responsible for keeping, presenting and popularising the official memory of the Soviet and Imperial eras.
Researcher: Sofia Tchouikina.
Supported by Maison des Sciences de l'Homme (Paris, the Diderot Scholarships Program).
The Causes of Spread of the New Right Ideology among the Younger Intellectuals in Post-Soviet Russia
(2004-2005)
A study of the social origins of the Russian New Right (Dugin and others) intellectual movement. A theoretical approach worked out by Pierre Bourdieu and his followers (Lamont, Karady) was applied to account for the process of the New Right political vocabulary's legitimation. The data gathered demonstrate that the success of the New Right in Russia is a result of a legitimacy crisis of established institutions of cultural production (e.g. academic disciplines). This crisis was caused by Russia's entering the global system of intellectual competition after the fall of the Iron Curtain. Methods used included the analysis of documents, content-analysis and unstructured interviews.
Researcher: Mikhail Sokolov.
Supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
Far to the East
(Photo-Expedition along the Amur River and to Sakhalin Island)
(2004)
Coordinator: Christoph Grill (freelance photographer, Austria).
The author and organiser of this project is working on a photo album about life in former Soviet republics after the collapse of the Soviet Union. During the last 5 years, he has organised expeditions to Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Ukraine, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan. Alla Bolotova participated in the expedition to the Russian Far East. Christoph Grill's photographs are mainly portraits and perspective pictures (not nature). The main idea of the book is to combine pictures with short stories about people or situations in concrete places.
Participant from CISR: Alla Bolotova.
Initiative project.
Main Entrances in St. Petersburg: Photo-Observation
(2004)
The research subject were the practices localised in dwelling houses' main entrances as well as the main entrances themselves, which were intended as buffer zones separating the private space of the family from the open public space of the city. The research method was photo-observation - shooting on a specially developed and piloted frame-scheme.
Researcher: Sergej Damberg.
Supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the CISR.
Narvskaya Zastava. Drift
(2004)
Joint project with the Festival "Contemporary Art in Traditional Museum".
Coordinator: Dmitry Vilensky (work group "Chto delatj? (What to Do?)").
By means of polls, video-interviews and the creative group "drift," a psycho-geographical map of "Narvskaya Zastava" has been drawn and its regional perception and development by natives and visitors has been researched.
Participant from CISR: Sofia Tchouikina.
Supported by the PRO ARTE Institute (St. Petersburg).
The Rise of the New Right Intellectuals:
A Comparison of the Russian, French, and German Cases
(2004)
An enquiry into differences in the reception of the New Right ideology in European societies, based on Pierre Bourdieu's sociology of intellectuals. The empirical information was gathered through analysis of secondary sources and expert interviews.
Researcher: Mikhail Sokolov.
Supported by the ZEIT Foundation (Ebelin and Gerd Bucerius ZEIT Stiftung).
The State and Perspectives of Development of Entrepreneurship in the Field of Culture and the Arts in Northwest Russia (A Case Study of the Podporozhskiy District, Leningradskaya Oblast')
(2004)
Pilot research was realised within the framework of the project "Development of the Creative Industries in Northwest Russia" (organised by the St. Petersburg Centre for the Development of Museum Business).
Coordinator: Oleg Pachenkov (CISR).
The project aimed to estimate the state of cultural institutions working in Northwest Russia and their potential to adapt to new social and economic conditions. The research was focused in particular on the creative industries' potential for development and on entrepreneurial skills.
Participant from CISR: Oleg Pachenkov.
Supported by the Open Society Institute (Soros Foundation).
Culture and Transition: Evaluation of the Effectiveness of International Professional Development Programs for Russian Arts Managers, 1993-2003
(2003-2004)
Coordinator: Katerina Gerasimova.
The study's purpose was two-fold: to evaluate the impact of 10 years of international professional development programmes in Russia in the cultural sphere, and to point to the future needs of arts institutions and managers. The field research was conducted in four Russian regions: the Northwest, Siberia, the Volga region and the Central region. The research included: collecting information on programmes with international participation; compiling a database of educational projects; conducting interviews with representatives of grant-giving organisations, programme organisers, experts, and programme participants and trainers.
Participants: Katerina Gerasimova, Zoia Solovieva, Sofia Tchouikina.
Supported by the Trust for Mutual Understanding (USA).
Display of Cultural Capital in Everyday Interactions
(2003-2004)
The project looked into the ways in which cultural capital is demonstrated in everyday interactions among members of the Russian New Middle Class. It also dealt with the strategies of acquisition of prestigious cultural resources required for performing the role of "the cultivated person." The research methods included participant observation and the analysis of documents.
Researcher: Mikhail Sokolov (in collaboration with Tatiana Safonova).
Supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the CISR.
Manchester - St. Petersburg:
Creative Industries Development Partnership
(2003-2004)
Joint project with the Creative Industries Development Centre (St. Petersburg), the International Business Leaders Forum (UK), the Leontief Centre (St. Petersburg), the Creative Industries Development Service (Manchester), and the Manchester Institute for Popular Culture (UK).
Coordinator: Dmitry Milkov (Creative Industries Development Centre).
The goals of the project were to assess the service needs of the creative industries (CI) sector that can be provided by the Creative Industries Development Centre, St. Petersburg (formerly OSB-Group) and then to suggest a strategy for the agency and its organisational structure. The first stage of the research included interviews with representatives of the sector itself, the business-community (involved in cooperation with CIs), authorities and NGOs working in the cultural sphere. After analysis of the results, the OSB-group defined its development priorities. The second stage of research aimed to evaluate the need for additional training for those who are starting or who wish to start a business in the CIs sector.
Participants from CISR: Katerina Gerasimova, Oleg Pachenkov.
Supported by the EU TACIS Programme.
Problems with the Formation and Reproduction of the Sociological Community of St. Petersburg
(2003-2004)
The research aimed to describe the contemporary position of sociology in St. Petersburg in the context of the "symbolic production" market (Pierre Bourdieu approach). During the project, interviews were conducted with the representatives of different sociological organisations included in the St. Petersburg Association of Sociologists (SPAS) and their members. Analysis of information contained in the directory "Sociologists of St. Petersburg and North-West of Russia: Who Is Who" was also carried out.
Researcher: Fedor Pogorelov.
Supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the CISR.
The Infrastructure and Socio-Cultural Meaning of Genealogical Search
(2003-2004)
The project was aimed at studying the social phenomenon of genealogical search, its organisational mechanisms, meanings and consequences for individuals and society. The key results of the research were based on interviews with people searching their genealogy, professional genealogists and representatives of Assemblies of Nobility in St. Petersburg.
Researcher: Olga Tkach.
Supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the CISR.
Academic Markets, Segments of Professional and Intellectual Generations: ThešField of Sociology in St.šPetersburg
(2003)
Thešambition of this project was to investigate thešprinciples of internal division, both intellectual and institutional, in thešprofessional community of St.šPetersburg sociologists. Differences in individual professional trajectories were interpreted as thešresults of differences in amounts and configurations of various forms of capital, being in issue in thešfield of science. Empirical data was gathered through participant observation, surveying of thešmembers of thešSt.šPetersburg Association of Sociologists (SPAS) and unstructured interviews.
Participants: Irina Olimpieva, Fedor Pogorelov, Mikhail Sokolov.
Initiative project.
Coping with Social Isolation through Art
(2002-2003)
Thešmain idea of thešproject was to give young marginalised artists (Graz) and children in crisis situations (Russia) anšopportunity to communicate with "society at large". Methods included organising exhibitions and performances and starting computer classes. Theštask of thešresearcher was to understand what role artists can play in thešdefinition and development of new public communication models, whether artistic communication can be ašmeans of overcoming social isolation and exclusion, and what needs to be done to make this project effective.
Researcher: Zoia Solovieva.
Supported by theš"Graz: Cultural Capital of Europe" programme and thešKAVN group (KUNST://ABSEITS THEšVOM NETZ).
Creative Industries Development Partnership: St.šPetersburg, Helsinki, Manchester
(2001-2002)
Joint project with thešInternational Business Leaders Forum (UK), thešLeontief Centre (St.šPetersburg),
thešCreative Industries Development Service (Manchester), thešManchester Institute for Popular Culture (UK),
thešHelsinki Urban Facts.
Coordinator: Susan Causey (International Business Leaders Forum).
Thešproject aimed to increase thešrole of business in thešsphere of culture on thešbasis of developing and supporting new competitive industries. Thešmain purpose of thešproject was to form favorable conditions for thešdevelopment of creative industry in St.šPetersburg. Within thešframework of thešproject, CISR researchers participated in thešorganization and carrying out of research aimed at revealing thešspecificity, size and potential of thešcreative industry sector in St.šPetersburg, including SWOT-analysis, elaboration of recommendations for establishing infrastructure and indicating prime measures of thešstate support of this sector. Two seminars were conducted in St.šPetersburg, in addition to thešintroductory program in Helsinki.
Participants from CISR: Katerina Gerasimova, Irina Olimpieva, Oleg Pachenkov.
Supported by thešTACIS Programme of thešEU.
St. Petersburg: Post-Soviet Identifications
(1998-2003)
Project of the Renvall Institute for Area and Cultural Studies (University of Helsinki).
Coordinator: Elena Hellberg-Hirn (University of Helsinki).
The goal of the project was to study the cultural strategies in post-Soviet St. Petersburg, particularly the preparation of the city for the tercentenary. Observation in the city space during the festivals and commemorations was implemented; interviews with the representatives of the city administration, with cultural managers and with the city dwellers were conducted. The field work was complemented by the analysis of the press and Internet publications.
Participant from CISR: Sofia Tchouikina.
Supported by the Academy of Finland.