Moscow under Construction: City Building, Place-Based Protest, and Civil Society

Moscow under Construction explores the growth of place-based opposition to redevelopment practices in Moscow and consequent changes in city’s governance regime. Groups of citizens have struggled to defend homes, neighborhoods, heritage buildings, and historic districts. Although their aims typically have been specific and limited, an important consequence of their activism has been to create a culture of protest. In this way, without intending to, local protestors have been building civil society in the Russian capital. The proliferation of “initiative groups” and “social associations” has not only protected specific places in the city and but also changed the governance regime and planning process.