Applies the methods of cultural studies research to Russian youth, deconstructing social discourse and providing an alternative reading based on unique ethnographic fieldwork from Moscow.

Introduction Part I Youth and youth culture: theoretical paradigms 1 On the road to nowhere? Understanding youth culture in the West 2 Building the road to nowhere: Youth in the Soviet-Russian tradition Part II Reconstructing Soviet youth, 1985-91 3 Youth under the spotlight of glasnost, 1985-6 4 The politicization of the youth debate, 1987-9: The neformaly 5 Youth as object of social policy, 1990-1 Part III Deconstructing the constructed: a case study of Moscow youth culture 6 Studying Russia: From masochism to methodology 7 Introducing the subjects 8 Doing the Moscow shuffle: An analysis of the cultural practices of a Moscow tusovka 'Embodied communication': defining a framework for analysis. Conclusion: Partying at the barricades

Hilary Pilkington is a lecturer in Russian Politics and Society at the Centre for Russian and East European Studies, University of Birmingham.