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In This Issue: Checking in on the Russian Middle Class

In the previous issue of the Russian Social Science Review we explored some of the historical background to the development of a middle class in Russia. The current issue pursues the topic in the contemporary period. Economists Elena M. Avraamova and Tat’iana M. Maleva lay the groundwork in our first selection, “The Evolution of the Middle Class: Missions and Methodology.” In addition to discussing the educational, entrepreneurial, and associational sources of middle-class status, and the functions of middle-class values and consumption patterns, the article notes the changing composition of Russia’s emerging middle class since 2000—a reflection not only of economic and social trends but also, though less explicitly, of political priorities: