Disability in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union : History, Policy and Everyday Life

There are over thirty million disabled people in Russia and Eastern Europe, yet their voices are rarely heard in scholarly studies of life and well-being in the region. This book brings together new research by internationally recognised local and non-native scholars in a range of countries in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. It covers, historically, the origins of legacies that continue to affect well-being and policy in the region today. Discussions of disability in culture and society highlight the broader conditions in which disabled people must build their identities and well-being whilst in-depth biographical profiles outline what living with disabilities in the region is like. Chapters on policy interventions, including international influences, examine recent reforms and the difficulties of implementing inclusive, community-based care. The book will be of interest both to regional specialists, for whom well-being, equality and human rights are crucial concerns, and to scholars of disability and social policy internationally.

Michael Rasell is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Health and Social Care at the University of Lincoln, UK.

Elena Iarskaia-Smirnova is a Professor in the Department of General Sociology at the Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia.