ABSTRACT
This chapter seeks to locate Russia's post-Communist middle class in a rapidly evolving global context where the idea of a Russian middle class is doubly contested: simultaneously, the meaning of middle class is undergoing profound change due to globalization. The middle classes are implicitly at the center of this debate, yet frequently are left out of the discussion. Proponents of globalization, put on the defensive by attacks on economic inequality, focus on 'trickle-down' to improve the lives of lower income groups rather than ways the global economy has expanded the middle classes. Political and economic boundaries are eroding as products, people and funds move with increasing fluidity. Common reactions to globalization include denying its significance in particular national contexts or fostering the myth that it is a choice – something a nation/society may participate in or not. Russians, with a cultural tradition stressing their uniqueness even among unique nations, have been particularly susceptible to this temptation.
