NETWORKS, IDENTITY, AND (IN)ACTION

In analyses of the political quiescence in Russia today the emphasis is predominantly on the lack or deficit of something - above all, the weakness of civil society. In order to avoid this one-sided and arguably biased Western way to view the Russians' strategies of cooperation and challenge, a look is taken, in a comparative perspective, at people's daily practices. The data consist of the information on the personal networks of secondary school teachers in St Petersburg and Helsinki, including information on various forms of cooperation for common benefit. The majority of the Finns were engaged in the activities of formal associations; this was not true of the Russians. Typical organized activities among the St Petersburg teachers were linked to recurrent events or celebrations in the school context. Their organized action was based on the school as a community, whereas the Helsinki teachers based their organization rather on horizontal ties and group activity grounded on professional interests. A kind of community orientation in the Russian teachers' activities appears an active adaptation to the present difficult conditions in Russia. It implies that Russian civil society may be lastingly impregnated with elements of trust and solidarity not crucial to standard Western concepts of civil society.