A vibrant civil society - characterized by the independently organized activity of people as citizens, undirected by state authority - is an essential support for the development of freedom, democracy, and prosperity. Thus it has been one important indicator of the success of post-communist transitions. This volume undertakes a systematic analysis of the development of civil society in post-Soviet Russia. An introduction and two historical chapters provide background, followed by chapters that analyze the Russian context and consider the roles of the media, business, organized crime, the church, the village, and the Putin administration in shaping the terrain of public life. Eight case studies then illustrate the range and depth of actual citizen organizations in various national and local community settings, and a concluding chapter weighs the findings and distills comparisons and conclusions.

Richard Medcalf is Director of the Institute of Sport and Human Science at the University of Wolverhampton, UK, and Vice-Chair of Sport4Life UK, a Birmingham-based charity which exists to transform the lives of young people through the power of sport. He has published on issues primarily related to inclusive practice in sport and physical education.

Chris Mackintosh is Senior Lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University, UK. He is a National Advisor to England Golf, the Sport and Recreation Alliance and Antigua and Barbuda governments, and is working with the Japan 2020 Olympics as an invited Policy Advisor on ‘soft participation legacy’. He has worked with policy stakeholders including Sport England, The Equality and Human Rights Commission, FA, RFU, Rugby Football League and many local authorities on national strategies, and bespoke academic research projects. He was the lead Academic Advisor on the outdoor recreation Reconomics (2014) and Reconomics Plus (2017) reports that underpinned policy advocacy and two parliamentary debates on the value of outdoor recreation in the UK. In 2017–2018 he undertook the independent review of the United Kingdom Coaching Certificate (UKCC).