Civil Society in the Soviet Caucasus: A Historical Analysis of Public and Private Spheres
Civil Society in the Soviet Caucasus: A Historical Analysis of Public and Private Spheres

Summary/Abstract: Historical accounts and academic literature bear little reference to civic association in the peripheral, non-Russian regions of the USSR. While a multitude of studies exist on social life and civic association in Soviet Russia, little is known about the Soviet Caucasus. This article provides a historical examination of the public and private spheres of the Soviet Caucasus that attempts to determine whether civil society existed in the Caucasus during Soviet rule. This study’s findings suggest that while the public sphere was under the exclusive control of the communist-managed state organizations until the mid-1980s, the private sphere of the Soviet Caucasus was dominated by informal social networks, often serving both as a surrogate civil society and as a substitute for associational life.

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