Crossing the Line: Vagrancy, Homelessness and Social Displacement in Russia by Svetlana Stephenson (review)

Abstract

77^ SEER, 86, 4, OCTOBER 2008 provided by the state and employer; and partly as a struggle against sexual inequality. As Sperling noted, there is no Russian term for 'gender', and indeed even feminists inRussia tend to accept that there are 'essential' differ ences between women and men. They nevertheless recognized that the post Communist political structures were (still)male-dominated and developed networks and lobbying strategies to try to influence politicians at both local and national level, despite their suspicions of political parties and of hierarchical structures generally. It proved extremely difficult to organize a mass movement; indeed, Sperling observed that feministsdid not tryto do so. The post-Communist media was not only generally unsympathetic but often downright hostile. Activists recognized thatwomen's organizations were seen as hangovers from the Soviet period, while feminism was stillperceived as a Western concept. Because women's groups lacked resources they often looked abroad forhelp, including to theUnited Nations, NGOs andWestern feminist movements. Whereas Sperling noted that globalization enabled women's organizations tofind new sources of support, sheworried that this might skew the focus of the Russian movement towards Western concerns and in favour of theminority of activists. The author warned that by the late 1990s the women's movement was concentrating on maintaining existing organizations and networking, and was retreating to academic and professional circles. Another consequence of linkswith the West has been a growing suspicion of foreign involvement, notably on the part of El'tsin's successor as President in 1999,Vladimir Putin. Sperling pointed to the importance ofNGOs fordevel oping civil society; however, like Western feminists, they too have been seen as a form of foreign interference. For the women's movement itself, foreign aid meant not only external influence but also internal competition so that, notably inMoscow, themovement fragmented.While keenly aware of the difficulties,Sperling viewed the situationwith some optimism, and concluded by encouraging Russian feminists to turn tomass mobilization and to focus less on central authorities and more on local issues. Putin, however, has since greatly increased the power of the centre. There is now more economic and political stability (and authoritarianism), but women still face discrimination and are still saddled with the double burden within a context of not only the feminization of poverty but also the escalation of violence against women. What Sperling has clearly revealed is the profoundly gendered nature of the transition from Communism in Russia. School of Humanities Jane MgDermid UniversityofSouthampton Stephenson, Svetlana. Crossing the Line: Vagrancy, Homelessness and SocialDisplace ment inRussia. Ashgate, Aldershot and Burlington, VT, 2006. x + 193pp. Notes. Bibliography. Index. ?50.00. It has been more than fifteenyears since the beginning of post-Soviet transi tion, butWestern social policy literature on Russia and other former Soviet countries still remains limited. There are few contextually grounded studies reviews 779 that expose the dynamics and causes of poverty and marginality. This is ironic considering the sheer magnitude of social problems in the region. Svetlana Stephenson's book is a major contribution to this field.The book advances our understanding of homelessness and marginalization in Russia. This is especially important as homeless people (bomzhi)have been 'invisible' to the mainstream society and policy-makers in Russia. On one level, the book pre sents the face of homelessness in Russia. It tells us how homeless men and women live their lives and cope with everyday challenges, how they relate to people around them and how they feel about themselves and their situations. On another level, it exposes social and political practices and institutional arrangements that exclude and displace individuals and drive them into extreme poverty. The author achieves thisgoal by depicting processes through which individuals become homeless as well as by analysing legal documents and policy arrangements in both Soviet and post-Soviet periods. The book is based on the author's extensive research in Russia over a period of twelve years. It is informed through 113 in-depth conversational interviews with homeless and marginalized people inMoscow. The research employed an ethnographic method of inquiry,which allowed detailed explo ration of processes of deprivation and solicited rich contextual data. The book skilfullycombines thework ofRussian scholars published inRussian academic journals, which would otherwise have...