Editor's Introduction

Abstract

Economic sociology in Russia has faced even more difficulties during the transition period than have the other branches of social science. Ironically, it was one of the most developed areas of research during the Soviet period, because the political regime was keen to find out what was happening in the economy and what could be done to squeeze more out of it. It was also easier to carry out research than in many other areas because sociologists had "captive" respondents in the factories, stores, and offices, and because the nature of the economy was relatively well known and unchanging. The only other areas of research that were as active (and for similar reasons) were the sociology of education and the sociology of youth. Although the new political regime is interested in finding out what is happening, the chaotic nature of change during the last decade has made research very difficult. Finding the most appropriate concepts and categories to use, for example, has proven to be very hard, in addition to which official statistics are fragmentary and inaccurate. (Since the 2002 census had only about a 70 percent rate of compliance, the situation is not likely to become much better in the next few years.) Moreover, the conditions of employment, the rules governing wages and salaries, the labor laws, the laws governing managerial actions, the role of trade unions, the flow of labor, the legality of private enterprise, the emergence of a new kind of property-owning stratum, the growth of unemployment, and the government's failure to provide for the needs of those still working in the state sector all conspire to make scientific study of the new economy even more problematic. It is against this background that the articles in this issue should be viewed.