ABSTRACT
A practical consequence of the non-priority position of the consumer sector combined with the centralised structure of society was that local people often experienced shortages in their basic material needs. For this reason, local populations have from time to time needed to concentrate on coping, to act locally to solve urgent problems of livelihood. Both coping and agency can take place either individually or in a group. The two main types of action are coping and strategic agency. Within its programmes, the state offers resources for individuals, families and entrepreneurs to facilitate agency towards increased well-being. Swedish International Development Agency's (SIDA) project demonstrated that local agency is an option in Russia, even in small, peripheral communities, and that there are local people who are willing to grab the opportunities when they get access to the know-how and the small number of resources needed to start their activity. In the Ladoga Initiative and SIDA projects, bottom-up activity had a strategic role.
