2009. Vol. 10. No. 3

The paper is devoted to particularities of strike movements in Russia in the 1990s and 2000s. The strike movement dynamics and its relation to the Russian economy’s functioning are studied through the changes in social and labor sphere and regulatory practices. Based on case-studies of recent strikes, the paper focuses on how trade-unions organize and institutionalize labor confl icts and views what factors drive industrial confl icts in the new economic era.

The article aims to expose some of the social assumptions on which economic analysis depends, fi rst to suggest that these assumptions have allowed economics to make important strides in social theory, but also to suggest that further progress lies in modifying or discarding those assumptions. Both the functioning of economic institutions and the theory of such functioning assume a foundation for trust. Is economic analysis able to deal with behavior in which this foundation can no longer be assumed? Economic analysis is able to deal with individual behavior based on incomplete trust or confi dence. But economic analysis has not been able to cope with the social organization of trust. As a result of not explicitly incorporating this social organization into economic theory, there remain many problems, which are of great importance for economics but cannot be treated by economic theory. Economists can model behavior at the level of individuals, but they are seldom able to make an appropriate transition from there to the behavior of the system composed of those individuals.

This article investigates malls as the most popular institution of retail market in contemporary Russia. The mall uses several kinds of strategies to regulate consumer behavior and gain profit. Among them are architectural and shopping space design, sale employees’ activity, etc. At the same time, a consumer does not follow the strategies of the mall passively. She/he has an experience of shopping that allows him or her to be an active agent in the shopping area. She/he also has a unique self-image that helps not to get lost in the commodity abundance. Intersection of the mall strategies and consumer behavior are in the focus of this empirical research.

The paper studies the nanotechnology market’s formation in Russia. Turning down the assumption according to which state and market are treated as hostile worlds, the author suggests an original view on the initial stage of the nascent nano-market. Obtained findings demonstrate how the state intervenes into the market’s construction and reconstruction and influences on private enterprises’ strategies.нанотехнологии

Published by Yadov’s anniversary,  an especial collection “Vivat, Yadov!” contains his colleagues’  memories and thoughts. The presented paper focuses on the Yadov’s research which is considered to be his main contribution into the sociological theory – on contradictions between individual value orientations and observed behavior. Those studies resulted in a book titled “Self-regulation and Prediction of Social Behavior of Individuals” (1979), suggesting an assumption of hierarchical structure of personal dispositions, of this structure’s social bases and its systematic infl uence on observed behavior.  This paper is devoted to Prof. Yadov and his colleagues but it also presents a review on Russian works on value studies.