Remaking Moscow: New Places, New Selves^*

* I was able to conduct some of this research thanks to fellowships from the American Council of Teachers of Russian and the International Research Exchanges Board, and a Summer Research Initiative Grant from the University of North Carolina, Wilmington. I am grateful for the assistance of Patricia Kerig, and I thank Elizabeth Hines for the idea.

Abstract

The erratic course of the “transition” in Russia today undermines hope for the establishment of a genuine democracy supported by institutions of civil society. The West must accept that the outcome of the transition is unknown. Whether public space is emerging where the practices of civil society have been able to take root is not clear at the moment. However, important transitions in daily life and everyday places are occurring, especially as a result of consumerism. If public space does take shape, it will have to be rooted in Moscow's new places. This study draws on the conceptual framework of Robert David Sack in an exploration of changes in places and selves in Moscow.

• consumption
• identity
• Moscow
• place
• public space

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Robert Argenbright

Dr. Argenbright is an assistant professor of earth sciences at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, North Carolina 28403.