The occupation of Runet? The tightening state regulation of the Russian-language section of the Internet Language-revised version,

This chapter describes how digitalization has affected activism in Russia by tracing the evolution, particularity, and the most visible forms of online activism in the context of the increasingly authoritarian Russian state. It discusses online activism in relation to “connective action” and illustrates it with two examples of contentious political activism: the anti-corruption campaign led by Alexei Navalny and the struggle to protect online communication from state surveillance by the Telegram messenger service. In addition, the chapter presents examples of Russian activism, which do not directly challenge the Kremlin.

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The article examines the reproductive decisions of Russian urban middle‐class women. We look at women’s lives in the context of Russian pronatalist family policy and the official conservative gender ideology of 2019–2020. Based on biographical interviews with 35 young women, we focus on working mothers. The sample is composed of middle‐class mothers since their lifestyle serves as a cultural model for the whole Russian society. We reconstruct the everyday rationalities deployed by the mothers to justify their reproductive decisions. The respondents seek “self‐realization,” postponing childbirth or limiting their reproduction. We reconstruct the discourse of “pragmatic individualism” as an everyday logic used by mothers, which helps them cope with the instability of the labor market and marriage and the lack of state social support. Using the logic of “pragmatic individualism,” women present themselves as respectable, socially competent individuals able to build their lives according to middle‐class living standards. The logic of pragmatic individualism contradicts the message of pronatalist state ideology based on “traditional” gender roles and high fertility. It gives women a rational explanation for why, despite socially supported childbearing, they decide to have only one or two children. We argue that while women rationalize childbearing decisions for financial security and social well‐being, their rationale is determined by class standards of respectability. These standards are associated with high standards of care and quality of life for a small number of children.

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