“The result is an edited volume of unusual internal cohesion, which at the same time avoids repetition and uniformity…In addition to presenting a multifaceted discussion of an understudied institution, the research team members also lay out their methodology in a set of appendices. The description of the research design and lists of interview and survey questions make the book a valuable resource for courses on social research methods.”  ·  Social Analysis “This text fills a gap in the market regarding eh social and emotional significance of public leisure institutions in Siberia and elsewhere. Its chapters clarify issues of change and continuity in the Siberia, House of Culture paradigm, as well as explaining the international reach and resilience of these institutions.”  ·  Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute “This book has a clear immediate aim that has not been covered in the anthropology of Russia—to describe and analyse the ‘House of Culture,’ a prominent institution in every Soviet town and village…[It] is a very interesting, ambitious, worthwhile and readable book.”  ·  Caroline Humphrey, University of Cambridge “This is a fascinating and very original book which explores cultures and cultural production in the postsocialist world. Basing their fieldwork in houses of culture (arts centres) allowed the contributors unique opportunities for understanding the recent evolution of local communities across Siberia and beyond.”  ·  Anne White, University of Bath