Russian Cultural Anthropology After the Collapse of Communism

In Soviet times anthropologists in the Soviet Union were closely involved in the state'¬"s work of nation building, for example by defining official nationalities and by gathering material about traditional customs and suitably heroic folklore, whilst at the same time refraining from work on the reality of contemporary Soviet life. Since the end of the Soviet Union anthropology in Russia has been transformed, adopting international research standards and shifting the focus of research to include urban culture and difficult subjects, such as xenophobia, though this transformation has been, and continues to be, controversial, with for example strongly contested debates about the relevance of Western anthropology and cultural theory to post-Soviet reality. This book presents an overview of how anthropology in Russia has been transformed since Soviet times, and showcases examples of important, interesting Russian anthropological work. As such, the book will be of great interest not just to Russian specialists, but also to anthropologists more widely, and to all those interested in the way academic study is conducted and related to prevailing political and social conditions.