Synopses & Reviews
Self-help organizations and charities were the least-studied pressure groups to emerge during
perestroika. This book examines the social exclusion experienced before 1985 by non-working citizens; studies the pre-1985 disabled people's movement and its numerous unofficial, but non-dissident organizations; discusses why the Gorbachev leadership adopted the non-Soviet concept of "charity;" analyzes the failure of local authorities after 1985 to stave off pluralism and defeat the voluntary organizations; and assesses how successfully the latter built the foundations of a civil society.
Review
This monograph provides a detailed and fascinating survey of the emergence of the 'voluntary sector' in the USSR during the early 1980s and throughout the reign of M.S. Gorbachev as General Secretary.
Russian Review
Synopsis
Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations Demokratizatsiya and the Voluntary Sector 1985: the State in Crisis 1985: Society in Crisis Perestroika and the Immediate Causes of the Voluntary Sector's Emergence Charities Self-help Organizations The Communist Response Building Political and Civil Society Conclusions and Epilogue Appendix Bibliography Notes and References Index
Synopsis
Examines social and political change in Russia under Gorbachev, focusing on voluntary organizations as an important part of the emerging civil society.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 227-243) and index.
About the Author
Anne White is Lecturer in Russian at the Department of European Studies and Modern Linguistics, University of Bath.
Table of Contents
Demokratizatsiya and the Voluntary Sector * 1985: The State in Crisis * 1985: Society in Crisis *
Perestroika and the Immediate Causes of the Voluntary Sector's Emergence * Charities * Self-help Organizations * The Communist Response * Building Political and Civil Society * Conclusions and Epilogue * Index