Civil Society Discourses in Russia: The Influence of the European Union and the Role of EU–Russia Cooperation

This article focuses on the development of Russian discourses of civil society in academic and political contexts since 1991. In this discussion, the influence of changing Russian discourses and understandings of state–society relationships on the development of voluntary organizations (civil society organizations or CSOs) will be analysed. As this article demonstrates, the direct influence of the European Union and other international actors on Russian civil society has waned with the strengthening of Russian policies of nation‐building and consolidation but remains a powerful background force. However, this study also provides evidence for more subtle forms of ‘Europeanization’ of civil society agendas, primarily through, but not limited to, pragmatic cooperation with EU partners. The most important area where this has taken place is in the definition of social agendas which have been neglected in Russia’s post‐Soviet transformation.