Social Networks in Post-Soviet Russia. Continuity and Change in the Everyday Life of St. Petersburg Teachers
Year: 1999
Type: dissertation
Abstract: The origins of this book lie in a comparative project 'Liens, réseaux, sociétes' (relations, networks, societies) originated and coordinated by Dr. Maurizio Gribaudi in 1992 at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris.In this experimental project, which brought together researchers from several European countries, data on personal networks were collected during 1993 in various European cities, among them Paris, Madrid, Helsinki, Turin, Athens, Cagliari and Naples.The research project 'Social Networks and the Special Characteristics of Finnish Culture' led by professor Risto Alapuro at the University of Helsinki, was responsible for the collection of the Finnish network data.At the time of launching the international project, the Soviet Union had already ceased to exist and the events in post-Soviet Russia were observed in Finland with astonishment and curiosity.It was only natural to decide to include St. Petersburg in our international sample of European cities.After three years, we were fortunate enough to be able to replicate the study in St. Petersburg under the aegis of the research project 'Cultural Inertia and Social Change in Russia'.The richness and variety of the Russian data gradually caught my attention and finally gave birth to this collection of articles.This book consists of an introduction and five articles which have been published or accepted for publication in various international journals.For the purposes of the book references have been harmonized and some language revisions done.The content of the articles, however, remains unchanged.Many people have contributed to this study.Without the co-operation of the Russian and Finnish teachers who sacrificed part of their scant spare time by filling in our structured diaries for two weeks in 1993-1994 and 1996, this work would not have been possible.Throughout the research I have benefited from discussions with my colleagues and research assistants in the projects 'Liens, réseaux, sociétes', 'Social networks and special characteristics of Finnish culture' and 'Cultural Inertia and Social Change in Russia'.My warm thanks to all of them.Risto Alapuro has not only been encouraging and inspiring as a supervisor of my thesis but is also the co-author of one of the articles in this collection.Anna-Maija Castrén has helped me throughout the study with her well-argued comments and insights.Maurizio Gribaudi has been a stimulating teacher and opponent in several seminars and meetings during these years.Timo Harmo, a friend and a co-author of another article in this collection, has aided me constantly with his methodological advice and expertise.Natalya Ganina collected the data in St. Petersburg in 1993 and has along with Nikolai and Anton Likhodedov always offered me a warm reception as well as valuable comments as natives of St. Petersburg.
Source: Työväentutkimus Vuosikirja
Author: Markku Lonkila
Language: English
Topic: Social Capital and Networks
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W141307996