The post-Soviet Russian state is haunted by the fear of not having enough people. Despite its well-publicized pronatalist campaigns, declining birth rates and rising mortality rates since the 1990s, cast doubt on the state's ability to care for its population effectively. In this ethnography, anthropologist Inna Leykin examines the post-Soviet Russian state's efforts and failures in population care. Revealing the existential burden of pronatalism, she demonstrates how the language of demography has become influential in defining what kind of behavior and social aspirations are deemed worthy of state support and protection.
Caring Like a State: The Politics of Russia's Demographic Crisis analyzes the professional world of demographers, non-state actors, and the subjective experiences of ordinary Russian citizens to explore how their reciprocal relations have shaped the dominant understanding of population issues and their remedies.
By:
Inna Leykin
Imprint: Indiana University Press
Country of Publication: United States [Currently unable to ship to USA: see Shipping Info]
Dimensions:
Height: 229mm,
Width: 152mm,
ISBN: 9780253073518
ISBN 10: 0253073510
Pages: 250
Publication Date: 02 September 2025
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
"Acknowledgments Note on Transliteration, Translation, Images and Names List of Abbreviations Introduction 1. The Afterlife of Soviet Demography in the Discourse on the Demographic Crisis 2. How to Do Things with Demography 3. Demography—A New Vernacular for the State 4. ""Traditional Family Values"": From Population as a Quantitative Problem to Population as a Moral Concern 5. Marketized Pronatalism and Domestic Spaces of Care Conclusion: Caring Like a State in a Time of War Bibliography Index"
Inna Leykin is Senior Lecturer at the Department of Sociology, Political Science, and Communication at The Open University of Israel. She is published in Slavic Review, Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, Sociology, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, and Medical Anthropology.
Reviews for Caring Like a State: The Politics of Russia's Demographic Crisis
""In her fascinating book, Caring Like a State, anthropologist Inna Leykin offers a pioneering political ethnography, shedding important new light on the centrality of issues of low fertility, high mortality, and migration in Russian politics past and present. A book to be enjoyed and to learn from."" - David Kertzer, author of The Pope at War
