Not by Bread Alone: Social Support in the New Russia

261 Pages·2004·2.07 MB·English

by  Melissa L. Caldwell

Not by Bread Alone

Not by Bread Alone
Social Support in the New Russia
Melissa L. Caldwell
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS
Berkeley / Los Angeles / London
University of California Press
Berkeley and Los Angeles, California
University of California Press, Ltd.
London, England
© 2004 by the Regents of the University of California
Chapter 6 was adapted from an article previously published as “The Social
Economy of Food Poverty in Russia,” in Culture and Economy: Contempo-
rary Perspectives,edited by Ullrich Kockel (Aldershot, England: Ashgate
Publishing [2002]).
All photographs by the author, William H. Caldwell, and Sandra L.
Caldwell.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Caldwell, Melissa L.
Not by bread alone : social support in the new Russia / Melissa L.
Caldwell.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-520-23875-3 (cloth: alk. paper) — ISBN 0-520-23876-1 (pbk.:
alk. paper)
1. Soup kitchens—Russia (Federation)—Moscow. 2. Social networks—
Russia (Federation). 3. Food relief—Russia (Federation). 4. Poor—
Russia (Federation). 5. Russia (Federation)—Social conditions—1991–.
I. Title.
HV696.S6 C35 2004
362.5'83—dc21 2003014268
Manufactured in the United States of America
13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 04
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
ANSI/NISO Z39.48–1992 (R 1997) (Permanence of Paper).
Contents
List of Illustrations vii
Note on Transliteration ix
Preface xi
1. Transnational Soup 1
2. Making Do
Everyday Survival in a Shortage Society 32
3. From Hand to Hand
Informal Networks 60
4. The Forest Feeds Us
Organic Exchange 100
5. Strategic Intimacy
Communities of Assistance 127
6. The Mythology of Hunger 156
7. Socialism Revisited 195
Epilogue 205
Notes 209
Works Cited 219
Index 235

Illustrations
1. Park Kul’tury metro station 2
2. Hallway leading to soup kitchen 4
3. Food packages at children’s soup kitchen 23
4. International Red Cross winter appeal for Russia 24
5. GUM department store 36
6. Shopping together at Moscow market 43
7. Muscovite sellers line city sidewalk 44
8. Moscow market scene 47
9. Picking grasses in dacha community 109
10. Produce market in Tver 120
11. Dancing in Moscow park 124
12. CCM soup kitchen at Moscow Scientific Institute 170
13. Mealtime at fourth CCM soup kitchen 172
14. Grocery store sign advertising social support 177
15. Aleksandra Petrovna’s birthday party 187
16. Viktor Vladimirovich’s ninety-fifth birthday 188
vii

Note on Transliteration
I have followed the U.S. Library of Congress system of transliteration in
this book, except in cases where spellings for certain proper names and
other words have become more familiar to North American readers (for
instance, Anya instead of Ania).
ix