The Collapse of Civility in Russia: The Young and Aged in a Failed Society

Employing Edward Shils' paradigm of center–periphery, the successful functioning of which produces high levels of civility in a society, an analysis of the aged and the young subsystems in the former Soviet Union and present–day Russia is provided. Specifically, the center–periphery relationship and its deterioration is traced up to and through the collapse of the former Soviet Union. The negative consequences of this deterioration for the young and old, and the resulting loss of civility are also documented.