The Social Legacy of Communism

This book analyzes the social impact of the transition from communism in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.

James R. Millar (Edited by), Sharon L. Wolchik (Edited by)

9780521461825, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 26 August 1994

422 pages
23.7 x 15.8 x 3.2 cm, 0.705 kg

"This carefully researched collection is based on scores of primary and secondary sources: newspaper articles, opinion polls, surveys, and a host of available relevant statistical data. Almost superseding its value as a source of information is its statment on the state of the discipline. The methodological diversity is simply breathtaking." Alice-Catherine Carls, The Historian

Work on the transition from communism in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union has emphasized the 'polity' and the 'economy'; this book analyzes the 'society', and thereby helps fill an important gap in the literature. It endeavors to summarize developments and impose some coherence on the subject by treating four basic areas: ethnic issues, deviance and health, social cleavages, and labor and elitism.

1. Introduction - social legacies and the aftermath of communism James R. Millar
Part I. Ethnic Issues
2. Making up for lost choice: the shaping of ethnic identity in post-sovietia Peter Juviler
3. From ethnicity to nationalism: turmoil in the Russian mini-empire Marjorie Mandelstam Balzer
4. Ethnicity, nationalism and the communist legacy in eastern Europe Maria N. Todorova
Part II. Deviance and Health
5. The social construction of deviance and the transition from communist rule Andrea Stevenson Sanjian
6. Crime and the collapse of the soviet state Louise Shelley
7. Drug abuse in eastern Europe John M. Kramer
8. Post-communist medicine: morbidity, mortality and the deteriorating health situation Mark G. Field
9. Health and mortality in eastern Europe: retrospect and prospect Nicholas Eberstadt
Part III. Social Cleavages
10. Communism's legacy and Russian youth Richard B. Dobson
11. The social legacy of communism: women, children, and the feminization of poverty Gail Kligman
Part IV. Labor and Elitism
12. Elitism in post-communist Russia Mervyn Matthews
13. Labour politics in post-communist Russia: a preliminary assessment Walter D. Connor
14. Unemployment in the former Soviet Union William Moskoff
Part V. Conclusion
15. Reflections on the social legacy of communism Joseph S. Berliner.

Subject Areas: Anarchism [JPFB]