Table of Contents

Introduction: The Theory of Res Publica and Contemporary Russia: How Do Things Matter Together with Publics? Part 1: Links with Conventional Theories 1. Goods, Res Publica, Actor-Networks, and Collective Action 2. Categories of Goods in Economics and Public Choice Literature as Applied to Heat and Water Utilities Part 2: Case Studies 3. Things and People in the Housing and Utility Sector Reform in Russia, 1991-2006 4. Common and Dividing Things in Homeowners' Associations 5. Looking for the Common and the Public in a Town. Conclusion: Commonality at Different Levels: Infrastructures of Liberty

About the Author

Oleg Kharkhordin is Professor at the Department of Political Sciences and Sociology, The European University at St. Petersburg, Russia. His publications include The Collective and the Individual in Russia: A Study of Practices, and Main Concepts of Russian Politics.





Risto Alapuro is Professor of Sociology at the University of Helsinki, Finland, and the head of the Helsinki Group for Political Sociology. His publications include State and Revolution in Finland, and as editor Beyond Post-Soviet Transition: Micro Perspectives on Challenge and Survival in Russia and Estonia.