Conclusion

This book has analyzed civic activity and citizenship and their gendered

manifestations in contemporary Russia on the basis of a case study of Tver0. It has addressed four main research questions. The first question has dealt

with pinpointing the central logics of action and characteristics of Russian

civic organizations. Contra the common impression, this study has shown

that a multifaceted organizational terrain exists in the Russian provinces,

which mainly functions without foreign donor support. This study has also

shown that social class centrally structures the field of civic activity in Russia. Civic organizations function as an arena of capital accumulation

and conversion, and contribute to the remaking of the Russian class struc-

ture. The recurrent theme in the research data is how the monetarization of

everyday life (Rotkirch 2000) and a lack of necessary economic capital

impede participation in civic organizations. The interviewed activists in this

study see an economically secured position as a prerequisite for participa-

tion, which construes civic activity as a privilege and gives a flavor of elitism

to it. Cultural capital also centrally facilitates participation in civic activity,

which is manifested in the fact that civic organizations tend to be domi-

nated by the educated class. Organizations can be seen as a vehicle of the

educated class to advocate their interests, help themselves, and seek both

social and individual-level change. The centrality of cultural capital in civic

organizations also manifests itself in the popularity of the educational and

enlightenment activities in Russian civic groups. The pivotal role of cultural

capital in organizations is linked with the professionalization of civic activity. Scholars and representatives of Western donor agencies, as well as a

number of interviewees in this study, frequently portray Russian organiza-

tions as weak and lacking in professionalism, skills and competence. This

negation is revealing as to how civic activity is understood: organizational

activity is defined as the work of professionals who devote a substantial

amount of time to it. It is a job opportunity and a career demanding special

skills. This is in contrast, for example, to the traditional Scandinavian ethos

of civic activity characterized by amateurishness: civic activity is something that people do as volunteers outside working life and it is not supposed to

require special professional skills (Eika˚s and Selle 2003). Professionalization may

entail that those lacking the necessary cultural capital become marginalized

from civic participation, which impedes their ability to exercise political

citizenship. Thus civic organizations, along with offering potentially empowering arenas for interest and identity articulation and politicization,

can also function as an excluding force, as a vehicle of the (re)production of

social inequalities and disadvantage in society.