Moscow´s (non)existent middle class

Since the demise of the Soviet Union, Russias middle class has become a much-discussed topic in both academic and public circles. After the political and economic upheavals of the 1990s, the early years of the 21st century were characterised by more stable growth and socioeconomic consolidation. This phase was considered conducive to the emergence of a middle class, which in political discourse is generally regarded as indicative of a successful transformation to a market economy. Thus, the concept of the middle class, which is used as an analytical lens for some European societies, is assumed to be almost universally transferable and thus applicable to the changing Russian society. Yet, to what extent is this possible in a country, where the richest 10 per cent of the population hold 83 per cent of household wealth and who can be counted among a middle class? This book abandons preconceived European-centred analytical concepts and approaches the Russian middle class from an ethnographic research perspective. The social conditions of Moscows average earners life circumstances and their own identity perception are examined. Paradoxically, the very people who meet commonly considered criteria such as an above-average income, a higher level of education and an advanced professional status do not feel that they belong to a middle class. They rather associate middle class with a European ideal of a stable and carefree way of life, which they do not (or cannot) claim for themselves. The monograph explores this paradoxical phenomenon in greater depth and questions (supposed) basic presumptions of a (non)existing middle class in Moscow. The book offers a glimpse behind the façade of a much-used term. In this way, it avoids a supposedly universal middle class notion and instead shows the diversity of Moscows middle classes by putting the social dependencies and respective strategies of adaptation into focus. The analysis carried out in this way enables a deeper understanding of Russian society and its dynamics.