Working-Class Resilience in Russia

Workers form the exemplary class of economic, social, and psychological ‘losers’ of the postcommunist transition.

Ukraine’s ‘muddling through’: National identity and postcommunist transition

The paper argues that the profoundidentity split strongly influencesUkraine’s postcommunist development, precluding effectively consolidation of any political system – either democratic or authoritarian. In most cases, the identity issue supersedes all other issues on the agendas of political parties and largely determines the character and results of electoral rivalry, and the way in which both domestic and international politics is viewed and articulated. The paper examines historical roots of competing identities in Ukraine, their essence and impact on two different visions of Ukrainian past, future, and “Ukrainianness” itself. The use and misuse of identity issues by Ukrainian authorities is a special concern of the paper that stresses the need of alternative policy aimed at a national reconciliation.

Trends and Social Differences in Alcohol Consumption during the Postcommunist Transition in Lithuania

The aim of the study was to evaluate the trends and social differences in consumption of various types of alcoholic beverages in Lithuania over the postcommunist transition period (1994–2010). The data were obtained from nine nationally representative postal surveys of Lithuanian population aged 20–64 conducted every second year (n=17154). Prevalence of regular (at least once a week) consumption of beer, wine, or strong alcoholic beverages and the amount of alcohol consumed per week were examined. Regular beer drinking as well as the amounts consumed increased considerably in both genders. The increase in regular consumption of strong alcohol was found among women. Sociodemographic patterning of regular alcohol drinking was more evident in women than in men. In women, young age and high education were associated with frequent regular drinking of wine and beer. Social differences in regular alcohol drinking should be considered in further development of national alcohol control policy in Lithuania.

Bourdieu and Postcommunist Class Formation

This article suggests that Bourdieu's model of class, framed in terms of cultural capital and habitus, is particularly valuable in understanding the restoration of capitalism under postcommunist conditions. Following the analyses of Szelényi and his collaborators, it is suggested that post-communist managerialism is still strikingly more pronounced than in the West. This and the notion of habitus in particular are perhaps the main elements of Bourdieu's thinking on which we can draw in theorizing postcommunist transition.