CURRENT PROJECTS IN OTHER AREAS

The Social Infrastructure of the Modern Russian Village: Principles of Organization and Development Possibilities
(2009-2010)

Partner: Samara Division of the Academy of Social Sciences (NGO).
Coordinator: A. Bokovenko, Samara Division of the Academy of Social Sciences (NGO).
This research is aimed at the study of the social infrastructure in a rural community - an infrastructure that has undergone significant transformations as a result of post-Soviet changes, both on an industrial and practical level. Using two rural communities as base examples, ethnographic research is being conducted using a comparative case-study strategy that takes into consideration a lengthy period of time spent in the field, as well as interaction with both rural residents and those experts who are involved in the management of rural social infrastructure. Qualitative methods of collection and analysis are used in the study, including semi- structured interviews, participant observation and the analysis of documentation. For the 'field' in question two Russian regions, differing both in climate and social-economic characteristics, were chosen: Povolzhe and the Northwest. An analytical report presenting the interests of those involved from an academic point of view is currently conceived as the project's intended result. Such a report could be used in further research and be of use in the development of social programs aimed at the optimization of social infrastructure in rural communities.
Project participants from CISR: Elena Bogdanova, Olga Tkach.
Project supported by the autonomous noncommercial organization "Institute for Social Design".

Advancement of Access to Justice for Disadvantaged Population Groups of the Russian Federation
(2009-2010)

Partners: ANNO Institute of Rights and Public Politics (Moscow).
The goal of this project is to increase access to justice and attract attention to the needs of some of the least well-off and socially vulnerable population groups in Russian regions taking part - Permskii Krai and Leningradskaya Oblast. The project's objectives include: a boost in the availability of justice for disadvantaged and socially unprotected groups, the optimization of relations between the courts and disadvantaged participants in judicial proceedings and the development of local potential for the rehabilitation of juvenile delinquents.
Project participants from CISR: Victor Voronkov, Lyubov Ezhova.
Project supported by the Japanese Foundation for Social Development through the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

Advocacy for Access to and Quality of Medical Services Related to Diagnostics and the Treatment of Drug Addiction, HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis and Tuberculosis with the Use of Monitoring and Evaluation on the Part of the Patients' Organization "Simona+"
(2009-2010)

A project of the philanthropic women's foundation "Astra".
Project coordinator: Evgeniya Maron (philanthropic women's foundation "Astra").
The project's main goal is the removal of barriers that limit access to medical services to drug users and those living with HIV / AIDS, tuberculosis and viral hepatitis. The project's objectives include: monitoring by patients' organizations of government programs aimed at the treatment of HIV infection, tuberculosis, viral hepatitis and drug addiction; monitoring by patients' organizations of access on the part of users of injected drugs with associated diseases to medical services; exposure and advancement of successful collaboration practices with government medical services in the sphere of diagnostics and the treatment of drug using patients living with associated diseases.
Project participant from CISR: Anatasiya Meilakhs.
Project supported by the Open Society Institute as part of the latter's International Harm Reduction Program.

The Flea-Market as a Phenomenon of Urban Culture: Comparative Research in St. Petersburg and Berlin
(2009-2010)

The goal of this research project is to analytically describe the urban flea-market asa 'mirror' of a certain form - that is, as a phenomenon that reflects the peculiarities of urban culture and social and economic life, as well as society as a whole, and therefore becomes of interest to a social scientist - and as a phenomenon of urban culture that brings a kind of investment to the creation of an urban space. In combination with other elements of urban socio-cultural life, this phenomenon creates a city's 'face'. The current project continues the research work begun in 2002 on flea-markets in St. Petersburg and then continued in 2006 and 2007 within the framework of comparative research done on flea-markets in St. Petersburg and Berlin. The research is conducted using qualitative methods (participant observation, interviews), while an understanding of the 'urban stage' and the theory of public spheres and public urban spaces is employed as the project's main analytical approach. The project will result in a series of articles in peer-reviewed English-language journals (2010) and a related book (2011).
Researcher: Oleg Pachenkov.
Initiative project.

Social Movements in Leningrad in the Years of Perestroika
(2009)

Partners: NITS 'Memorial,' St. Petersburg
Coordinators: Victor Voronkov(CISR), Aleksandr Margolis (NITS "Memorial").
The project's goal is to demonstrate, with the greatest level of depth possible, the societal-political processes which occurred in Leningrad (St. Petersburg) during the period of Perestroika (1985-1991). Within the project's framework more than 80 interviews were recorded with representatives of various societal movements; archival materials and photographs were used and analyzed as well. The project's central result was the publication of a book entitled, 'The Societal Life of Leningrad in the Years of Perestroika - 1985-1991,' (collected materials, Ansberg, O.N. and Margolis, A.D., St. Petersburg, Serebryanii Vek, 784 pp.). The first part of the book is an urban timeline of those years in the reflection of internal and international events, while the second section contains interviews and fragments of earlier published recollections of those immediately involved in the events of Perestroika. The book's most important section, however, is a directory containing information about organizations, periodical publications and active participants in the societal life of Leningrad during the second half of the 1980s. The book also contains a full bibliography and index.
Project participants from CISR: Victor Voronkov, Elena Zdravomyslova.
Project supported by the Institute of Social Design.

Problems of Modern Legal Education in St. Petersburg
(2009)

Project leader: Elena Bogdanova.
The idea to conduct this project came up during CISR's collaboration with the Institute of Rights named after Prince Oldenburgskii. Research was conducted in institutions of higher education in St. Petersburg with the goal to reconstruct a picture of the transforming legal education within a complex of mutual connections, opinions and evaluations. The project was carried out mostly by qualitative methods and consisted of three separate parts: discourse-analysis of the websites of legal higher education institutes and relevant departments in St. Petersburg, semi-structured interviews with experts responsible for the organization of the educational process in legal institutes / departments, and a survey of graduate students in four legal institutes in St. Petersburg.
Researchers: Elena Bogdanova, Olga Tkach.
Project supported by the Foundation for the Development of Clinical Legal Education and the Ford Foundation.

Downfall of Post-Soviet Sociology in an International Context: a уomparative Study of the Institutional Background
(2008-2009)

The fall of the Iron Curtain and subsequent manifold appearance of different schools and research institutions and, therefore, thousands of graduates and hundreds of qualified specialists, have not had any noticeable effect on the position of Russian sociology in the world arena. Actually, many sources (publications in reputable editions, affiliations with associations and editorial boards, etc.) see a recession when the current years are compared with the period from 1990 to 1995. Based on the method of macrocausal analysis (Skocpol), this project studied the institutional background of this failure. Comparison with other academic subjects in the social sciences (economy, history, political science) and with other post-socialist countries, where sociology has been developing more successfully (Poland, Hungary) is used for the verification of some hypotheses put forward in the course of the preceding research. The research employed a variety of primary sources (statistic analysis of documents, citation database analysis, etc.) and secondary data.
Researcher: Mikhail Sokolov(CISR).
Supported by Science Foundation at the Higher School of Economics(SU-HSE, Moscow).

"Collective" and "Public" in a Russian Context
(2008-2009)

The Project of the European University at St.Petersburg (EUSPb)
Project Director: пleg Kharkhordin (EUSPb).
This research project aimed to investigate the distinctions between the concepts of "collective" and "public", as applied to Russian society. The sociological aspect of the project was devoted to a transformation of these concepts (the case of the St. Petersburg movements for preservation of historical and cultural heritage: the late 1980s - the early 2000s). The project is planned to be finalized in a monograph titled "Why does Russia have so much of the "collective" and so little of the "public"?"
Participant from CISR: Boris Gladarev.
Supported by the Dynasty Foundation (Moscow).

Discussion about the Modernization of Historical St. Petersburg
(2008-2010)

The given research project considers a variety of questions on the "rebuilding" of urban space. It analyzes the discussion that follows the dramatic process of city rebuilding, with particular emphasis on the rhetoric used by city authorities and their opponents in the debate on new (including high-rise) construction within the limits of historical St. Petersburg. In the last few years pressure from market forces and a push to modernize the urban landscape of the city and to make this more "European" have come into conflict with ideas of conservation and the retention of urban architecture. This has led to the formation of different camps that neither understand nor accept one another's ideas. These developments should be considered as both a part of a worldwide trend and as a localized specific story, unfolding in the immediate time and place. The goal of ongoing and planned research is to fixate the debate around the city development and reconstruct the main argumentative strategies and groups of interests that push them.
Researcher: Dmitry Vorobyev.
Initiative project.

HIV-Avoidance Practices within the Longtime IDUs' Social Networks
(2008-2010)

The research focuses on social and biographical features of injection drug users, which contribute to durable avoidance of HIV infection. The main research question is to specify "the culture of HIV protection" in IDUs' networks. Other goals of the project are: 1) to define IDUs' basic individual and network HIV protection strategies; 2) to describe the factors which promote staying durably HIV free, as well as elaborating and sharing self-preservation strategies within the networks.
Participant from CISR: Nastya Meylakhs.
Supported by the Interdisciplinary Center for AIDS Research and Training, the Medical College of Wisconsin (USA), the Clinic for Infection Diseases (Botkin Hospital, St. Petersburg).

Gatekeeping as a Control Measure for Admission to St. Petersburg Childcare State Institutions: Current Situation and Perspectives of Development
(2008-2009)

Joint project with "Every Child" (UK).
Coordinator: Oleg Pachenkov (CISR).
This research is part of an applied project "Improvement of the children-oriented decision- making system in Nevskii and Vyborgskii districts of St. Petersburg" being implemented by the St. Petesburg-based branch of the "Every Child" organization, under financial support from the TACIS program. The research is aimed at studying the procedure of taking a child from the family and placing him/her in a state institution. The objective is to detect actors, stages, and the current running of the process, and to suggest mechanisms for preventing children from being placed in state institutions. We propose to use project findings to assist in the realization of the program for prevention of children's institutionalization. They may be helpful in assessment of real need for specialized institutions (boarding schools) and may help determine alternatives to children's placement in state institutions. Researchers employed the method of case study.
Participants from CISR: Oleg Pachenkov, Lubov Ejova.
Supported by "Every Child" and the TACIS Program.

Disabled Children: a Risk of Being Placed into Specialized Institutions (A Case of St. Petersburg)
(2008)

Joint project with "Every Child" (UK).
Coordinator: Oleg Pachenkov (CISR).
Research goals were to reveal a connection between children's partial disability and relevant institutional support. The basic research question is: what are the risk and protection factors that influence the probability of disabled children's placement into state institutions? Researchers used the methodology of a questionnaire survey among families in situations 1) when children with special needs live at home, and 2) when such children are placed into specialized institutions. Questionnaire data were supplemented by expert interviews, biblio- analysis of different aspects of this topic, and critical analysis of the current statistic data.
Participants from CISR: Oleg Pachenkov, Lubov Ejova.
Supported by "Every Child" and the TACIS Program.

Young People and Alcohol: the Analysis of Press Material
(2008)

Joint project with the Information and Analyses Centre (IAC) for Social and Health NGOs.
Coordinator: Oleg Pachenkov (CISR).
A short-term (two-month) research project within the framework of an applied project "Alcohol and drug prevention among youth in St. Petersburg" being implemented by IAC in collaboration with the Nordic Council of Ministers. The research aimed to define the frequency of mentioning the problem of alcohol addiction in general, and that with regard to young people, in particular, in the local press. In the course of the research, a discourse- analysis of St. Petersburg newspapers for the first four months of 2008 was carried out focusing on 1) plot units relating to the theme "young people and alcohol" presented in newspaper publications, 2) a context for these plots, 3) a style of writing, etc. In addition, expert interviews with journalists were conducted. In May 2008 the project findings were presented at a press conference attended by St. Petersburg journalists.
Participant from CISR: Oleg Pachenkov.
Supported by the Nordic Council of Ministers (Norden).

The Governance of HIV/AIDS Prevention in North-West Russia
(2007-2010)

Coordinator: Peter Meylakhs (CISR).
A collaborating group of Norwegian and Russian research and higher education institutions has launched a study on HIV/AIDS governance in North-West Russia. The project examines the extent to which HIV/AIDS prevention is perceived and treated as a public health issue, requiring a broad, multi-sectoral response. The project is actor-oriented and intends to study processes and perspectives among four types of actors: 1) authorities (federal, district and local levels); 2) professional groups; 3) risk groups; 4) the general public. Through case studies in five municipalities (located in three federal districts: St. Petersburg city, Leningrad and Arkhangelsk oblasts) the project will analyze whether there is a coherence between prevention strategies at the national level and the way these are implemented and perceived at lower levels. The project combines quantitative and qualitative research methods: document analysis, qualitative case studies and surveys among the risk groups and the general population.
Participants from CISR: Peter Meylakhs, Olga Tkach.
Supported by the Research Council of Norway.

Soviet Society from a Sociological Perspective
(2007-2008)

The aim of the project was to design (for future lecturing at Samara State University) an educational course in contemporary social theory and qualitative methods of sociological research considering social problems of Soviet society. The course represents a series of lectures covering basic sociological concepts of modern authors combined with seminars and trainings aimed at developing practical skills in analyzing and interpreting qualitative data compiled from the studies of the past.
Researcher: Olga Tkach.
Supported by the International Higher Education Support Program of Open Society Institute (HESP), Central European University (Curriculum Resource Center).

Female Drug Addition and Harm Reduction in Georgia, Russia and Ukraine (The case of St.Petesrburg, Russia)
(2007)

Joint project with PLIV/IDU ("Svecha" and Front AIDS).
Coordinator: Anastasia Zolotova (CISR).
The project design included independent sociological expertise of services provided for women who use drugs: 1) by state institutions rendering medical aid in the sphere of narcology care and sexual and reproductive health; 2) within city harm reduction programs. Based on the analysis of material from focus groups with female drug addicts and observation in clinics and harm reduction centers, the researchers have revealed obstacles that prevent women from applying for aforesaid state services and from being involved in relevant state programs.
Participants: Anastasia Zolotova, Peter Meylakhs.
Supported by the Open Society Institute (IHRD).

From Nationality to Citizenship: Transformation of Soviet Scenarios of Citizens' Legal Problems Solving
(2007)

The idea of the project is based in the debate about the existence or the lack of tradition of legal society in Russia. Liberal theory describes Soviet society as a continuation of the imperial regime's patrimonial authoritarian traditions. This fact conceals the modern character of soviet (and late-soviet, in particular) society. Relationships between citizens and the state are comprehended in the category of nationality. At the same time mobilization perspectives of Soviet discourse are set aside, as well as the demand on citizens to implement civil functions. The project is an attempt at comparative empirical research of citizens overcoming legal problems in Russian society of the late-soviet and post-soviet periods. The main method of research is discourse-analysis of citizens' appeals to different authorities in the late-soviet and post-soviet periods.
Researcher: Elena Bogdanova.
Supported by A. Gagarin Foundation in Collegiums of the Smolny College of Liberal Science and Arts.

Realization of Rights of HIV-Positive Drug Users on Anti- Retroviral Therapy: TheљSearch for Possibilities of Compromise
(2006-2007)

Coordinator: Peter Meylakhs.
Theљproject is directed to determination of conditions capable to establish aљclimate of mutual trust between medical services responsible for ARV therapy provision and HIV- positive drug users, and to promote participation and adherence of this group to ARV therapy. Theљprimary objectives of theљresearch are: 1)љDetermination of formal and informal rules of provision/denial of ARV therapy and analysis of interactions between medical workers and HIV-positive drug users in theљcenters responsible for provision of ARV therapy (so called 'AIDS-centers'); 2)љDetermination of possibilities for modifications of practices of medical workers and HIV-positive drug users, which can facilitate establishment of aљclimate of trust between them and enhance participation and adherence of HIV- positive drug users to ARV therapy. Methodology: semi-structured interviews, participant observation, analysis of normative documents.
Participants: Peter Meylakhs, Elena Chikadze, Anastasia Zolotova.
Supported by theљFord Foundation.

(Re)construction of Boundaries of the Concept of Human Rights in the Conflict between Human Rights and Religious Organisations (The case of "Caution: Religion!" exhibition and a discussion of "The Passion of the Christ" film)
(2006-2007)

The pogrom at the exhibition of modern art entitled "Caution: Religion!" (2003) is an illustrative example of the conflict between human rights organisations and representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church. This conflict has revealed their different logics of actions and their different symbolic rates. It has also demonstrated that "rights" cannot exist independently of social institutions and individuals (although "rights" as a concept has acquired universal meaning fixed in many official documents), and that they are constantly redefined. The project aimed at studying the processes of definition, challenge, redeclaration and determination of the scope of "applying" the concept of human rights as regards freedom of conscience, belief, and thought.
Researcher: Anastasia Zolotova.
Supported by the Heinrich Boell Foundation.

Applications to theљAuthority as theљExperience of theљCitizens' Interests Protection in theљLate Soviet Society 1960-1970th
(2005-2006)

Object of theљresearch is complex of relationships accompanying citizens' applications to theљauthority - agents of theљofficial mechanism of applications in 1960-1970th. Oral and written applications to theљauthority were theљonly one legitimate way for theљinterests' protection accessible to theљsoviet citizens during whole theљsoviet period. Formally this is theљlaw relations. Specificity of theљsoviet system denies theљsimple answer for theљquestion: what and how regulates these relations in theљsoviet society? Consequently theљresearch aims to analyze and descript theљnorms and rules regulating theљlaw relations realized in theљconditions of theљsoviet applying mechanism in aљperiod of 1960-1970th. Design of theљresearch is defined in compliance with theљmethod of critical discourse-analysis. It permits to consider theљproblem of theљlaw relations regulating on three levels: history, ideology and discourse. Conclusions of theљresearch are formulated on theљbasis of analysis of empirical material, which consists of late-soviet normative documents, ideological issues, archive materials, press and interviews.
Researcher: Elena Bogdanova.
Initiative project.

Combining Efforts to Provide Occupation Safety of Sex- Workers
(the Case of St. Petersburg)
(2005-2006)

Coordinators: Erin Finnerty (International Harm Reduction Development Program, Soros Foundation, New York), Sue Simon (Open Society Institute, New York) and Dmitry Boutenko (CISR).
This pilot project is aimed at the description and gradation of professional risks and threats facing female sex-workers in both individual sex businesses and the intimate interiors (massage parlours) of St. Petersburg. The research entails in-depth interviews with working women. Two international scientific-practical seminars were held with the participation of sociologists, the representatives of nonprofits, and representatives from the legislative and executive branch.
Participants from CISR: Elena Zdravomyslova, Nadezda Nartova, Dmitry Boutenko.
Supported by the Open Society Institute and the CISR.

Consumption in the Soviet Union.
Ideology, Decision Making and Monitoring of Consumers' Opinions
(2005-2006)

Joint project with the Renvall Institute for Area and Cultural Studies (University of Helsinki, Finland).
The aim of the project is to research attempts and efforts in regulation of the human needs and consumption in the post-WW2 Soviet Union. The main ideological motives and practice which defined a picture of the post-war consumption, as well as myths concerning consumption, widespread in the post-war everyday life are considered and analysed in the project. The result of the project is taking a clear idea of the work, health, consumption, property, luxury, wealth and poverty, interaction between the citizens and power during the Soviet, post-war years.
Participant from CISR: Elena Bogdanova.
Initiative project.

The Defense of Rights in the Late-Soviet Period: An Experience that Never Was
(2005-2006)

The aim of the project is an investigation of the advocacy of the civil interests experience in the late-Soviet period (since 60s). The late- Soviet period has defined a "starting point" of the post-Soviet transformations, and research on this period can explain many recent social processes passing nowadays in the Russian society. In the project the main strategies used by the citizens in the conditions of the Soviet society to protect their interests are revealed. This kind of experience is critically considered and conceived in the categories of the contemporary social thought for the first time.
Researcher: Elena Bogdanova.
Supported by the Heinrich Boell Foundation.

Health Values and Changing Society in Russia
(2004-2007)

Joint project with the Tampere School of Public Health (University of Tampere, Finland).
Coordinator: Pauliina Aarva (University of Tampere).
The project analyses the social and cultural factors affecting the health of Russian citizens, the discourse of health in political documents, in mass information, and the public aims of health.
Participants from CISR: Olga Shek, Olga Brednikova.
Supported by the Academy of Finland.

An Opportunity to Think Differently:
The Historical Transformation of the Criticism of River Management Projects in the USSR
(2004-2006)

The project analyses the appearance of public and scientific discussions surrounding large-scale economic problems of national importance in the USSR in the 1980s. The goal of the research is to reveal the mechanisms of the origin of the public discussions and the critique of state projects under the conditions of authoritarianism. The central question is: what form does critical discussion take under the conditions of a closed society? The research is based on the analysis of a particular case - the polemics surrounding the Soviet plan to divert a north- flowing river to the south. Interested parties, their positions, the methods of argumentation and ways of conducting discussions are examined. The methods of research: the analysis of documents, discursive analysis, focused interviews.
Researcher: Dmitry Vorobyev.
Supported by the Heinrich Boell Foundation.

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