"To live well, to live at ease": reflections on life by post-Soviet Russian teenagers

This article attempts to contextualize the adolescent experience in post-Communist Russia. Based on over one hundred life-history interviews conducted between September 1995 and February 1996, it was found that Russian teenagers emphasized continuity over change, described themselves more as passive participants than as active shapers of a democratic society, and simply wanted "to live well, to live at ease." These findings are examined in light of theories about adolescence in general and the sociopolitical situation of Russia in particular.