Russia's Skinheads

"This work comprises a milestone in the study of contemporary Russian society. By having the courage to take as an object of study a group that is decried, marginal, and difficult to break into, and by ably going beyond the cliches linked to racism and skinhead violence, these three authors have succeeded in providing a refl exive reading, one performed 'from the inside,' of individual and collective trajectories in Russia today. Marked by joys and fears, hopes and disappointments, love and hate, fraternal bonds and ruptures, these trajectories make it possible to give back to individual life choices their social depth, beyond ideological commitments. And they open up a large fi eld of research into the Russian cultural landscape and the strategies and resources that people use to give meaning to their lives." - Marlene Laruelle, Slavic Review, Vol. 70, No. 3 (Fall 2011) Winner of the The Alexander Nove Prize, 2010.

Hilary Pilkington is former Professor of Sociology at the Department of Sociology, University of Warwick, and former Director of the Centre for Russian and East European Studies at the University of Birmingham. She is now a Professor in Sociology at the University of Manchester. Elena Omelchenko is Professor of Sociology and Head of Department of Sociology at the Higher School of Economics, St Petersburg, and Director of the Scientific Research Centre Region, Ulianovsk. Albina Garifzianova is a Senior Research Fellow at the Scientific Research Centre Region, Ulianovsk.

1. Introduction: Rethinking Skinhead Lives Hilary Pilkington Part 1: Growing Up in a Harsh Climate 2. The Weight of the Vorkuta Sky: Placing Youth Cultural Identities Hilary Pilkington 3. At home I was a nobody: The Roots (and Limits) of Skinhead Solidarity Elena Omelchenko 4. Upgrading: Cultural Interests and Strategies Albina Garifzianova Part 2: The meaning(s) of skinhead 5. Skinhead is a movement of action: Ideology and Political Engagement Hilary Pilkington 6. Any skinhead likes to fight: Ritual, Racist and Symbolic Violence Hilary Pilkington 7. No Longer on Parade: Style and the Performance of Skinhead Hilary Pilkington 8. In search of Intimacy: Homosociality, Masculinity and the Body Elena Omelchenko Part 3: Reflections on the Research Process 9. No Right to Remain Silent? In Search of Equality in the Field Elena Omelchenko 10. Research Emotions: The View from the Other Side Albina Garifzianova 11. Does it Have to End in Tears? Reflexivity and Team-Based Ethnography Hilary Pilkington 12. Conclusion: Solidarity in Action Hilary Pilkington