ABSTRACT
A civil society is a combination of voluntary civic and social associations and organizations that enables society to function; and which acts as a "shock absorber" between the individual citizen and the state with its monopoly of legal force. The beginning of decisive change in the Soviet Union came, however, with the introduction of the policies of perestroika (restructuring) and glasnost (openness) by Mikhail S. Gorbachev between 1985 and 1991. A key objective is to assess the contribution of non-formal education and of informal learning to the development of active citizenship, social participation and civil society in the contemporary Russian Federation. Through such popular education citizens of all ages are arguably better able to engage effectively with their communities and social networks; to meet employer demands for knowledge and skills in the labour market; and to engage with the state as active citizens.
