
Empowering Women in Russia
Julie Hemment
Julie Hemment's engrossing study traces the development encounter through interactions between international foundations and Russian women's groups during a decade of national collapse. Prohibited from organizing independently under state socialism, women's groups became a focus of attention in the mid-1990s for foundations eager to promote participatory democracy, but the version of civil society that has emerged (the "third sector") is far from what Russian activists envisioned and what donor agencies promised. Drawing on ethnographic methods and Participatory Action Research, Hemment tells the story of her introduction to and growing collaboration with members of the group Zhenskii Svet (Women's Light) in the provincial city of Tver'.
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About Julie Hemment
Reviews for Empowering Women in Russia
Anthropological Quarterly
[W]ritten in a clear, accessible, and very engaging way, making it suitable for anyone within the development sector with an interest in gender issues in Russia and the former Soviet Union, or an interest in processes of democratisation . . .
Gender & Development
This is unquestionably an important book in our efforts to understand women in Russia and the evolution of post-Soviet Russian society. . . . It can be recommended to students and scholars of Russia as well as those specializing in women's issues. Vol. 44, No. 4
Journal of Contemporary History
Despite the critiques of the NGO world and the collapse of the women's crisis centre,Hemment's collaborative research had fruitful results as many women felt empowered and benefited . . . .34.2 March-April 2011
Women's Studies Intnl Form
. . . This thoughtful, intriguing analysis of a complex situation will be of interest to scholars in Russian studies, anthropology, women's studies, economics, and development studies. . . . Highly recommended.
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