ABSTRACT
What do the recent ‘cult controversies’ in Russia tell us about the country’s postcommunist transformation? The liberties and freedoms of the post-communist decade both allowed and pushed emerging religious groups and their opponents to assert themselves, thus inadvertently drawing new social and cultural boundaries and contributing to the creation of a new society. As this chapter points out, all participants in this debate come from a society where legitimate cultural and social boundaries were supposed to be obliterated, and ways of pursuing and negotiating different interests were restricted and rigidly controlled.
