Eleanor Bindman - Social Rights in Russia: From Imperfect Past to Uncertain Future

First published 2018

by Routledge

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2018 Eleanor Bindman

The right of Eleanor Bindman to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

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British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Bindman, Eleanor.

Title: Social rights in Russia / Eleanor Bindman.

Description: 1 Edition. | New York : Routledge, 2018. | Series: BASEES/

Routledge series on Russian and East European studies ; 114 | Includes

bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2017024931 | ISBN 9781138841987 (hardback) |

ISBN 9781315731919 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Social rightsRussia (Federation)History. | Human

rightsRussia (Federation)History. | Russia (Federation)Social

policy. | Russia (Federation)Politics and government1991

Classification: LCC HM671 .B576 2018 | DDC 323.0947086dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017024931

ISBN: 978-1-138-84198-7 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-1-315-73191-9 (ebk)

Typeset in Times New Roman

by Apex CoVantage, LLC

The questions of what the state should provide to its citizens; how expectations of the states role in the social sphere are shaped by a countrys political and historical context; and how civil society can attempt to advocate for recognition of citizens social rights lie at the heart of this study. The notion that as a citizen of a recognised nation-state one is entitled to the public provision of goods and services such as housing, health care and social security has not only been contested for several centuries but remains so today, with social rights constituting ideological, fluid and changing constructions (Dean 2015). Whether the debate concerns the extent to which recipients of state social benefits indicate the appropriate behaviour to be deserving of this support or whether those forced to move to a country as refugees or asylum-seekers should be entitled to similar benefits to those enjoyed by ordinary citizens, the idea of equal and universal entitlement has become increasingly politicised and at times dismissed, even by those positioning themselves on the Left, as outmoded. This tendency has been exacerbated at times of economic crisis, with the most recent global financial crisis of 20082009 providing the impetus for the introduction of a new austerity agenda in much of Europe, bringing with it swingeing cuts to public spending and an increased reliance on means-testing and other forms of limiting entitlement. While these questions could usefully be applied to any country case-study around the world, exploring them in the context of contemporary Russia has much to tell us in terms of how social rights are perceived in a country with a long history of Communist and autocratic rule. Exploring these issues can also reveal how the relationship between the state and its citizens develops in countries moving from a totalitarian regime to whichever type of political system takes its place and of how welfare states and citizens perceptions of them function in authoritarian regimes. They also raise further questions of how civil society organisations in these authoritarian regimes respond to the states chosen social policies and attempt to mitigate the effects of changes in welfare provision which impact upon citizens enjoyment of social rights. As a result, Russia provides a rich case study for exploring these questions, but the issues raised have implications for similar regimes in both the post-Soviet region and the wider world.