Policy Press

Feminist Politics in Neoconservative Russia

An Ethnography of Resistance and Resources

By Inna Perheentupa

This is an important account of grassroots feminist activism in Russia in the politically turbulent 2010s characterized by authoritarian and conservative trends. Drawing on interviews and rich ethnographic data, the book walks the reader through different feminist practices, revealing their historic and contemporary political echoes.

In the media

'Feminist Politics in Neoconservative Russia' on New Books Network podcast

This is a nuanced and compelling analysis of grassroots feminist activism in Russia in the politically turbulent 2010s.

Drawing on rich ethnographic data, the author illustrates how a new generation of activists chose feminism as their main political beacon, and how they negotiated the challenges of authoritarian and conservative trends.

As we witness a backlash against feminism on a global scale with the rise of neoconservative governments, this highly relevant book decentres Western theory and concepts of feminism and social movements, offering significant insights into how resistance can mobilize and invent creative tactics to cope with an increasingly repressed space for independent political action.

“This timely study brings a fresh perspective to the study of feminist organizing and contention in Russia. Analytically subtle and ethnographically satisfying, it adds substantial value to scholarship on contemporary Russian culture and politics, while contributing to literature on social movements and resistance studies more broadly.” Julie Hemment, University of Massachusetts

"This book reveals the inventive and some of the riskier strategies of the feminist grassroot politics in the context of the Russian conservative authoritarian regime before the war in Ukraine. The text is empirically rich, methodologically relevant, theoretically profound, well-written and thought-provoking. It awakens the sociological imagination." Elena Zdravomyslova, European University at St Petersburg

Inna Perheentupa is Post-Doctoral Researcher in Sociology at the University of Turku.

Introduction

Fifteen Cases of Disability Hate Crime

From Hate Crime to Disability Hate Crime

Agenda Triggering

Agenda Development

Towards Agenda Institutionalization?

The Problem with the Current Agenda: Focus on Vulnerability

An Agenda Item Yet to Fully Speak Its Name: Ableism and Disability Hate Crime

Conclusion