“They fear us because we are Other”: attitudes towards disabled people in today’s Russia

Elena Nosenko-Stein

doi:10.18294/sc.2017.1140

“They fear us because we are Other”: attitudes towards disabled people in today’s Russia

Elena Nosenko-Stein Sociologist, PhD in History. Senior Researcher, Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia.

Received: 13 September 2016, Accepted: 24 February 2017, Published: 17 July 2017

https://doi.org/10.18294/sc.2017.1140

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Abstract

Although the number of disabled people in post-Soviet Russia exceeds 13 million, research regarding many processes occurring within this large segment of the society remains scant. The objective of this article was to examine the different notions and stereotypes dealing with impairments. Using the qualitative approach of oral history, in-depth interviews with 11 men and 16 women with disabilities were carried out in three regions of Russia, as were interviews with six experts in Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod. In addition, accounts of disability experience published in online journals were examined. The analysis of these sources shows that the perception of disabled people and disability in general is ambivalent and impacts the perception of disability and self-identification of disabled people who are also a part of Russian society.

Keywords: People with Disabilities, Social Perception, Qualitative Research, Russia

Categories: Anthropology

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