Democracy, Gender, and Social Policy in Russia A Wayward Society

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union a quarter of a century ago, Russia has undergone a dizzying and complex transition that has seen it transform from a communist state into a democracy before regressing back to the more authoritarian regime that exists today. Through a compelling and insightful analysis of the Russian case, this book explores the role that social welfare plays in regime transitions, specifically it examines the role that gender and social welfare has played in Russia's often chaotic post-communist political evolution, from Boris Yeltsin's assumption of the presidency in 1991 to Vladimir Putin's return for a third term as president in 2012. From 2001 to 2011, social welfare (especially pronatalist policies) was a key part of the political leadership's governance strategy. A shift from pluralism to regulation accompanied a discourse in which strong government would rein-in a wayward society. But can a hierarchical political system satisfy the aspirations of a changing citizenry? This study demonstrates that gender is at the very centre of debates over the authenticity of democracy in Russia.

Andrea Chandler is Professor in the Department of Political Science, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada. She authored two previous books: Institutions of Isolation: Border Controls in the Soviet Union and its Successor States, 1917-1993 and Shocking Mother Russia: Democratization, Social Rights, and Pension Reform in Russia, 1990-2001.

Introduction: Democracy, Gender and Citizenship in Postcommunist Russia
PART I. DISCOURSES OF THE EARLY TRANSITION; LIBERALISM, FEMINISM AND THE MARKETS IN THE 1990S 
1. Welfare and Social Justice in the USSR's Final Years
2. Liberalism and Social Reform in the Early Transition
3. Gender Equality, Individual Empowerment and Pluralism
PART II. OPPOSITION POLITICS, NATIONALISM AND THE SEARCH FOR AUTHENTICIT, 1995-2004
4. Social Welfare in the Mid-Transition, 1995-2000
5. The Debate on Public Morality
6. The Rediscovery of the Child
PART III. STATISM AND DEMOCRATIC REVERSAL UNDER PUTIN; POLICIES FOR A WAYWARD SOCIETY (2000-2008)
Chapter 7. Pronatalism and Family Politics under Putin's Presidency
Chapter 8. Gender and the State in Debates on Conscription
PART IV. STEPS TOWARDS A POST-PUTIN SOCIAL CONTRACT
Chapter 9. Social Justice and Social Inclusion, 2005-2011
Conclusion