Solovey, Vanya Mark <br/><br/>
Creating supportive spaces: Feminist community and collective identity in Russia 

 -  2021.<br/>							 
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<br/><br/> Despite neopatriarchal state policies and increasing repressions against feminists, the Russian feminist movement has grown dramatically in the last 15 years and made itself increasingly heard in the public sphere and the media. This paper argues that a crucial reason for these impressive, albeit still little acknowledged successes is the feminist movement’s emphasis on constructing and maintaining a feminist community and collective identity. Drawing on interviews with feminist activists, it examines how communities are created as supportive spaces that empower members for collective action and shelter them from outside hostility. Bringing the findings into dialogue with existing social movement research, it argues that rather than being defining characteristic of Russia, hostility towards feminism is a temporary aspect of the political situation which is already receding in response to feminists’ continued efforts.