Abt. Geschichtswissenschaft

"Private Life, Public Action: How Housing Politics Mobilized Citizens in Moscow" from Anna Zhelnina

In Private Life, Public Action, sociologist Anna Zhelnina offers a compelling study of how ordinary Muscovites mobilized in response to the city’s 2017 housing renovation program. In a context where grassroots activism is rare and politically risky, residents organized local alliances, debated with neighbors, and unexpectedly found themselves drawn into public action. Zhelnina introduces the concept of “housing strategies” to show how private concerns about home, security, and everyday life shaped people’s engagement with the redevelopment plan. Through careful ethnographic research, she reveals how these interactions transformed not only political attitudes but also relationships within local communities. Clear, insightful, and deeply grounded in contemporary Russia, this book offers a fresh perspective on urban change and the everyday roots of civic mobilization.

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