Index

ableism(s): capitalism and, 24; disability as marker of, 16; global manifestations of, 17, 149; infrastructure of, post-Soviet dwelling patterns and, 119; as systemic injustice, inaccess stories revealing, 4, 8; understanding and undoing, disability anthropology's concern with, 15, 16
ablenationalism, 29, 147–48
access/accessibility: appropriated as state business, 57, 77; as complex and evolving category, 18–19; English usage in relation to disability, 123–24, 133–34; ethnographic understanding of, 18; and freedom from disturbance, association of, 139; imagined experience of, inaccess stories and, 8; as “interpretive relation between bodies,” 20; as knowledge practice, 19; legally codified, vs. interdependence and kinship networks, 41; as metaphor and literal expression of agency, 20, 119; modern nation state and concern for, 17; as relative concept, 99, 128–29; Russophone lexicon of, 18, 20, 32, 41, 73, 120–31, 133, 138; as shorthand for technosocial infrastructures of justice, 17; as social practice, 20; as symbol of normal life (normalʾnaia zhiznʾ), 2, 10, 130; vernacular meanings of, 148. See also accessibility standards; accessible design; disability access; dostupnostʾ; vernaculars of access
access friction, 2, 28; invasion of Ukraine and, 152. See also global access friction
accessibility ramp(s): within broader network of transportation and passageways, 77–78; building codes and, 88; built using checklists vs. makeshift, 89; as cultural icon, 95; as disability things, 71, 74, 75; Euroamerican models for, 87; to first-floor apartments, 108, 109; and good passage, 78; inaccess stories about, 1–2, 71, 72, 77, 83, 91–92, 149; individual advocacy and, 83, 84–85, 86; makeshift, 74, 83, 84, 89; origins of, 75; petitioning to build, 108; in public buildings, 77, 86–87, 96–97; responsibility regarding, question of, 84–86; in shopping malls, 74, 86–87, 90, 96, 97; symbolic vs. actual function of, 72, 73f, 75–76, 79–80; traveling in global friction, 73, 76, 87. See also inaccessible accessibility ramp(s)
accessibility standards: architects’ responsibility for ensuring in draft plans, 87–90, 120–21; building contractors and breakdown of, 90–91; minimum, Russian Federation's symbolic compliance with, 77; traveling in global friction, 7, 19, 41, 73, 96, 146
accessible apartments: building codes and requirements regarding, 98–99, 109; World War II veterans and demand for, 109. See also under apartment(s)
accessible built environment (dostupnaia sreda): idea of, as representative of modern society, 11; use of term in Russia, 124, 125, 126, 164n2. See also barrier-free environment (bezbarʾernaia sreda)
accessible design (dostupnyi dizain): alternative Russian term for, 123; architectural building codes and, 81; cooptation by corporations and marketers, 146–47, 150; corrupt implementation in Russia, 2; as cultural geometry, 25; debility ignored by, 151; global circulation of concept of, 2, 121, 149; individual advocacy and, 83, 84–85; as marker of modernity, 7, 25, 72, 95; mismatch associated with idea of, 27; mobilization for broad political critique, 95, 146, 149; as moral claim, in Soviet era, 32–33; as object of desire, 72; parti/aesthetic characteristics of, 25; political imaginaries and, 148; as provincial vernacular design logic, 29; symbols of, in Russian public spaces, 147–48; traveling in global friction, 7, 19, 41, 73, 96, 146; udobstvo (convenience) related to concept of, 133; used as metaphor in inaccess stories, 4–7; as utopian hope, 21. See also accessibility ramp(s)
Accessible Design (AD) movement, 75
accessible public transportation. See public transportation
access industry, 19
advocacy: disability justice movement and, 151; individual, and accessibility ramps, 83, 84–85, 86, 108; parents of people with disabilities and, 49, 59, 91; post-Soviet Russians and, 102; subtle modes of allegiance building and, 143. See also disability advocacy
agency (social and political capacity): access as both metaphor and literal expression of, 20, 119; persistent inconvenience as attempt to curtail, 139–40, 149; of Russian citizens, debates about, 100, 102, 132
Ahmed, Sarah, 95, 145
Aina (disabled person and volunteer at Weekend School), 43–44, 47–48, 49; impact of Weekend School on, 44, 54; as representative of first post-Soviet generation, 46, 67
Alina (wheelchair user with cerebral palsy), 36, 37, 79, 118; on apartment building's renovations, 111; physical confinement of (“life in four walls”), 104–5, 106; as representative of first post-Soviet generation, 67; social relationships of, 105–6; on waiting list for socially distributed apartment, 114
Americans with Disabilities Act: elements of Universal Design (UD) incorporated in, 75; terminology used in, 164n1
anthropology: of design, 20–22, 161n10. See also disability anthropology; infrastructure(s)
Anya (psychologist and power wheelchair user), 76–77; advocacy by, 84–85, 86, 91; inaccess stories of, 77, 79, 82–84, 91, 97, 140; on minimum conditions of barrier-free environment, 83–84, 95–96; ramp outside apartment of, 84, 89; trading up for first-floor apartment, 108, 118; visit to, 81–82
apartment(s): accessible, building codes and requirements regarding, 98–99, 109; cost of renting, 107; first-floor, accessibility of, 109, 118, 129; first-floor, trading up for, 107–8, 118; “home gym” for child with cerebral palsy in, 116; (in)accessibility of, intersectional identities and systems of oppression and, 100, 114, 115, 117; inaccess stories about, 1, 9, 41, 99, 100, 104–5, 114, 116, 118–19; inherited, value of, 116–17; more accessible, factors reducing ability to move to, 115; physical confinement to (“life in four walls”), 103, 104–6, 112; preferences regarding, interlocutors with mobility impairments and, 98, 99, 106, 107, 109, 116–17; problem of getting in and out of, as essential to lived experience of disability, 104, 110–13, 114, 116, 127; remodeling for accessibility, 98, 99, 108, 129; shared/communal, 104–5, 114, 115; single-family, desire for, 114, 115; socially distributed, disability status and entitlement to, 114; typical layout of, 107
apartment building(s): difficulty navigating around, 78f, 81–82, 113f; disabling structures in, 110, 117, 118, 119, 127; with elevator, and freedom of movement, 98; shared parts of, and renovation challenges, 111–12, 119; Soviet-built, socialist ideology and, 117–18, 119; Soviet-era, universal design of, 101–2, 103f; staircases in, 82, 110–11, 110f, 118; walk-up (without elevator), 1, 98, 108, 116
architects: and accessibility standards, responsibility for ensuring in draft plans, 87–90, 120–21; lack of communication with ramp users, 90–91
architecture: design distinguished from, 161n10; vernacular, ethnographic attention to, 19
art: descriptions of disability in, effect of, 10; design distinguished from, 160n10; disability culture and, 8; Soviet realist-idealized representations of human form in, 33
art therapy group(s), for people with disabilities (art-terapiia), 1, 36–37; focus on social rehabilitation in, 57, 66–67, 68; sudden surge in, 56–57
Artyom (university student with cerebral palsy), 126–27, 128, 142
Asimov, Isaac, 76
Association for Slavic Eastern European and Eurasian Studies, disability studies interest group in, 152

barracks (temporary housing), 106, 116
barrier-free environment (bezbarʾernaia sreda): minimum conditions of, 83–84, 95–96; use of term in English/international context, 82–83, 124, 164n1; use of term in Russian, 83, 123, 124–25
barriers to disability access: built environment and, 1–2, 4–5, 69–70, 74, 77–80. See also inaccessible accessibility ramp(s); inaccess stories
barriers to social inclusion, mistranslation of concept in Russian, 57
bathroom(s), remodeled for accessibility, 98, 99
Berlant, Lauren, 134
bezbarʾernaia sreda. See barrier-free environment
bezbarʾernostʾ (access), 120, 122
Bowker, Geoffrey C., 80
building codes: and accessible apartments, requirements for, 98–99, 109; architects’ responsibilities regarding, 87–90; building contractors and subversion of, 90–91; checklists used to ensure compliance with, 87, 88; decoupling design process from function, 96–97; enforcement of, 89; minimum level of satisfactory execution of, 83–84, 95–96; for people with limited mobility, 87–88; responsibility for enforcing, 86
built environment: core concern with livability of, 20; impact on daily life, legacy of Soviet ideology and, 7, 33, 130; as material iteration of modern nation-state, 22; postsocialist, creative solutions to problems of, 102; and social marginalization of people with disabilities, 15, 74; and social relations, dialectical relationship between, 141. See also accessible built environment; built environment, Russian; infrastructure(s)
built environment, Russian: absurdity of, photo series depicting, 4–5, 5f; accessibility features in, disconnected from broader network of transportation and passageways, 77–80; afterlife of state socialism in, 100; barriers to disability access in, 1–2, 69–70, 74; compared to Euroamerican infrastructure, 89; minimum conditions of barrier-free environment (bezbarʾernaia sreda) and, 83–84
bureaucracy/bureaucratic process: and accessible infrastructure, 8–9; and anthropology of infrastructure, 22–23; and corruption, 165n6; and employment for disabled young adults, 65–66; and (in)convenience, 133; lists and protocols, 80; and minimum accessibility standards, 84–86; and post-Soviet governmentality, 51

Canada: accessible (term) used in, 164n1; apartments in, 107; disability access in, legal concept of, 18; disability justice movement in, 151
capitalism: and ableism, 24; and accessible design appropriation, 146–47, 150; alternative forms of economy measured against, 43; cost-cutting measures undermining accessibility standards in, 90–91; disability studies and critiques of, 24, 148; friction as critical intervention into popular narratives of, 26; and global access friction, 27; neoliberal, abnormal coopted by, 146
category work, 38, 121–31
cerebral palsy (DTsP, detskii tserebralʾnyi paralich), children with: parenting of, 8, 71, 104–5, 114, 116; parents acting as advocates/organizers for, 49, 59; physical therapy for, 116; program fostering independence for, 49; rapid changes in social service programs and experiences of, 45–46
checklist(s): vs. cost-cutting measures, 90–91; functioning in friction, 81; vs. lived experience as source of expertise, 91–92, 96; logic of, and design and construction of ramps, 71, 72; as particular kind of technology, 80; as part of infrastructure of illiberal democracy, 96; role in ensuring accessibility standards, 87, 88, 89–90, 120–21
checkmark ramps, 71, 72, 81, 85–86, 91, 95–97
child development, Vygotsky's theories of, 33
children with disabilities: life opportunities for, socioeconomic status and, 117; nonprofit support group for, 43–44; parenting of, 8, 71, 104–5, 114, 116; shifting paradigms of disability services and, 60–68; Soviet discipline seeking to address, 33; Soviet newspapers’ silence on, 132. See also cerebral palsy; education; post-Soviet generation, first
Chua, Jocelyn, 9, 160n8
citizen complaints: convenience (udobstvo) referenced in, 133–34; history in Soviet Union/Russia, 131–32, 136; humor in, 9, 135; inaccess stories compared to, 9–10, 12, 94; state's failure to provide minimum standards of normal life and, 20, 136–37. See also complaint(s); pothole talk
college(s)/universities, people with disabilities at: experimental group for, 63–64; inaccess stories of, 8; transportation challenges for, 79, 126–27
Collier, Stephen, 163n4
comfortable/convenient (udobno/komfortno), in Russophone lexicon of access, 20, 121, 122, 127–28, 128t, 129, 130, 138. See also udobstvo
commercial spaces: accessible design in, as cripwashing, 30, 146–47. See also shopping mall(s)
communal apartment(s), 104–5, 114, 115
communism: disability studies on, 24. See also socialist ideology
community building: inaccess stories and, 42, 142–43, 145; pothole talk and, 137; rituals of complaint and, 9, 136–37, 142–43
complaint(s): enacted rituals of, and community building, 9, 136–37, 142–43; political, inaccess stories as, 41, 122–23, 142, 145, 149; register of, 9, 160n8. See also citizen complaints
constructivist design, Soviet, 24–25, 32–33, 141
convenience: vs. access, in English usage, 133–34. See also komfortno; udobstvo
corruption, in Russian public life: and accessible design, implementation of, 2; and infrastructural failures at Sochi Olympics, 94; material expressions of, 71–72, 138; Western complaints of, 165n6
COVID-19 pandemic, physical confinement (“life in four walls”) during, 104
“Crip Techno-science Manifesto” (Hamraie and Fritsch), 24
crip theory, use as analytic, 37
crip time, inaccess stories about, 139–40
cripwashing, 29, 30, 161n12; accessible design appropriation and, 30, 146–47; as technique of power in Russian Federation, 94
critical access studies, 19
critical disability studies: disability anthropology in relation to, 15, 37. See also disability studies
cultural geometry, concept of, 25

dacha (summer house), 161n1
Dalʾ, V. I., 138–39
Dead Souls (Gogol), 139
debility: and disability resituated as privileged identity, 151; as product of historical systems of oppression, 16
defectology, Soviet discipline of, 33
democracy: described as inaccessible in Russian context, 148; illiberal, infrastructure of, 96; ramp as symbol of, 96–97
design: anthropological approach to, 20–22, 161n10; constructivist, 24–25, 32–33, 141; definitions of, 21, 160n10; by disabled people, 160n9; as display, 25; as exercise in world-making, 92–93; as fundamentally human practice, 23–24; images of failure in, as critiques of Russian state, 25, 93, 94; ontological, concept of, 23; productivist and nationalist logics of, 24–25; and progress/modernity, association of, 7, 72; as sociocultural practice and relational configuration, 21; sociopolitical ideas associated with, 25; Soviet, material afterlives of, 117–18; of Soviet apartment building, 101–2; vernacular vs. professional, 22. See also accessible design
design friction, concept of, 28
disability: anthropological perspective on, 13–14 (see also disability anthropology); anti-assimilationist position on, 24; as category of modern welfare state, 16; as cultural category, 14–15; as diverse and capacious category, 39–40; as intersectional identity, 17; legal definitions of, process of creating and revising, 14; as marker of ableism, 16; as object of study, importance of, 39; as political position in relation to structures of power, 44; relational model of, 15; Russian official discourse on, changes in, 93; Russian terminology for, incommensurability between translations of, 32; as sensory experience of the world, 14; shifts in attitudes toward, in post-Soviet years, 58; social model vs. medical approach to, 15; Soviet political stance on, 31, 33; transculturally relevant metrics for, complexity of creating, 14; use as metaphor, arguments regarding, 10–11
disability access: built environment and barriers to, 1–2, 4–5, 69–70, 74, 77–80; concept of, social and historical context in Russia, 7, 11, 20; ethnographic examination of, 18; Euroamerican understandings of, vs. vernacular descriptions, 12, 17–18; global access friction and, 26, 30, 73, 80, 150; kinship networks and, 1, 99, 105, 114; as metaphor for broader social conditions, 2, 4–7, 9, 10; origins of concept of, 7, 20, 32; Russophone vocabularies of, 2, 41; as technical-legal concept, 17; transnational definition of, as one modality among many, 20
disability advocacy, Russian: distinguished from Euroamerican disability advocacy, 31; history of, 30–34; particular problem for, 9–10; in Petrozavodsk, 49; terminology used in, 124–26
disability anthropology, 15–16, 148; and fieldwork methodology, 37; and global ethnographic accounts, 16; as tool for advancing robust global disability studies, 150
disability culture, inaccess stories as core element of, 8
disability expertise, 159n3; vs. checklists in ramp construction, 91–92; commodification of, 19, 160n9; and critiques of Sochi Olympics infrastructural failures, 94; disability anthropology and focus on, 15; inaccess stories based on, 4, 8, 91–92, 97, 140; vernaculars of access and, 20
disability justice movement, 151
disability NGOs, in Russia: Foreign Agent Law and, 45, 51, 69; instability associated with, 60, 67; parents involved with, 58–60; proliferation in late 1990s-early 2000s, 53–55, 66; publications of, 54–55; state agencies replacing, 36, 57, 58–59, 162n3
disability politics, use of term, 44
disability rights, framework of: limits of, 4; in post-Soviet civil society, 41
disability rights movement: in North America, strategic essentialism of, 17–18; reliance on norms/standards, 81. See also disability advocacy
disability services: changing landscape in post-Soviet Russia, 44, 45–46, 49–50, 56–60; Euroamerican ideology and, 52, 53–55; first post-Soviet generation's experience with, 60–68; Foreign Agent Law and, 40–41, 45, 56–57, 60; instability and precarity of institutions providing, 60, 67; professionalization of (shift from NGOs to state agencies), 36, 57, 58–59, 162n3. See also social service agencies
disability simulation, 165n1
disability studies (critical disability studies): and critiques of global capitalism, 24, 148; disability anthropology in relation to, 15, 37; feminist studies compared to, 17; as interdisciplinary field, 16; possible new directions for, 142–43; in Russia, 151; and suspicion of norms, 81. See also global disability studies.
disability things: accessibility ramps as 71, 74, 75; mediascapes of, 92, 93; origins of concept, 162n2
Dokumaci, Arseli, 18
domestic spaces. See home spaces
dostupnaia sreda (accessible built environment): idea of, as representative of modern society, 11; use of term in Russia, 124, 125, 126, 164n2
dostupnostʾ (access/accessibility), 120, 121, 122; alternative terms used to express, in Russophone vernaculars, 127–28, 128t; as container for multiplicity of meanings, 18, 124; incommensurability between translations of, 32, 73, 130–31; in Russophone media discourse, 109, 124; vs. udobstvo (convenience), 127–28, 131
dostupnyi dizain. See accessible design
DTsP (detskii tserebralʾnyi paralich). See cerebral palsy

education, of children with disabilities: experimental programs, 62–65; inclusive, Weekend School and, 43–44, 55–56; mainstreaming, interlocutor's perspective on, 62–63, 64; policy changes in, 61–62; specialized (internat), interlocutors’ perspectives on, 49, 61–62, 63. See also college(s)/universities; inclusion/inclusive education; internat (specialized school)
Elements (early intervention center), 57–58, 59
elevator(s): apartment buildings with, and freedom of movement, 98; apartment buildings without, 1, 98, 108
employment, of people with disabilities: experimental programs for, 65–66; transportation issues and, 82; in US vs. in Russia, 67–68
Engels, Friedrich, 33
English language: access used in relation to disability in, recent development of, 123–24; access vs. convenience in, 133–34; Anglophone phrases used in Russia, 123
Escobar, Arturo, 21, 23
ethnography, as research method, 4
Euroamerican postindustrial modernity: accessible infrastructure associated with, 95, 142; and “normal life,” vision of, 7, 42, 117, 129, 142; use of term, 160n5
Euroamerican understandings of disability: and accessibility ramps, 87; and disability services in Petrozavodsk, 52, 53–55; vs. history of disability advocacy in Russia/Soviet Union, 31; origins of, 32; vs. vernacular descriptions/registers of complaint, 12, 17–18
everyday Marxism, 34, 141
evroremont (renovation in European style), 98, 107
exclusion. See sociopolitical exclusion
experimental programs, for people with disabilities: and employment, 65–66; first post-Soviet generation's experience of, 65, 66, 68; and higher education, 63–65; rapid changes in disability services and, 45–46

Fehérváry, Krisztina, 142
Felix (director of Weekend School), 47, 48, 49, 52–54
feminist studies: and disability politics, use of term, 44; disability studies compared to, 17; global, 151
fieldwork, 4, 7, 34; location of, 34–36, 46; methodology for, 37–39; scope of, 39–40; time periods for, 38, 44, 46
Finland: accessibility of public infrastructure in, stories about, 77, 129–30, 142; border with Russia, 35; partnerships with, and disability services in Petrozavodsk, 44, 56, 57; Russophone vocabulary used to refer to experiences in, 138
Fitzpatrick, Sheila, 132
Foreign Agent Law, 50–51; impact on NGOs, 45, 51, 69; and shifting landscape of disability services in Russia, 40–41, 45, 56–57, 60
Forlano, Laura, 28
“forness” (term), 95
Foucault, Michel, 80
friction: anthropological perspective on, 26–27; concept of accessible design traveling in, 7, 19, 41; inaccess stories as stories about, 27; physics of ramps and, 76; as useful/generative, 26–27, 28, 97. See also access friction; global access friction; global friction
Friedner, Michele, 14, 27, 146
Fritsch, Kelly, 24

Galya (wheelchair user with spinal cord injury), 1–2; inaccess story of, 1–2, 4, 19, 71
Gibson-Graham, J. K., 43
Gill, Carol, 8
global access friction, 26–29, 30, 73, 80, 148, 149; capitalist logics of exchange and, 27; concept of, 2, 4, 26; cripwashing as important valence of, 30; ethnographic research and exploration of, 4; images of inaccessible disability ramps and, 11, 149; local incentives to create art therapy projects as drivers of, 57. See also global friction
global disability rights: future of, 4; UN CRPD and, 32
global disability studies: and critiques of global capitalism, 148; disability anthropology as tool for advancing, 150; expansion of, need for, 150–51
global friction: accessibility ramp traveling in, 73, 76, 87; accessible design traveling in, 7, 19, 41, 73, 96, 146; access vernaculars existing in, 2, 18, 121, 152; causes of, 23; lists as systems for managing, 80; use of term, 2. See also global access friction
Gogol, Nikolai, Dead Souls, 139
good life, imagined: descriptors of, 138, 142; gap between lived reality and, 136, 165n6. See also normal life (normalʾnaia zhiznʾ)
good passage: accessibility ramps and, 78; concept of, 138, 162n3; mobilized for political critique, 149; Russophone vocabularies of, 41, 138
Gorbatykh, Galina, 125–26, 164n2
government buildings, accessibility ramps in front of, 86; as cripwashing, 30, 96–97
Gref, German, 147, 165n1
grocery store(s), neighborhood, 78f; inaccessible accessibility ramps in front of, 1–2, 3f, 71

Hacking, Ian, 14
Hamraie, Aimi, 24, 75, 162n2
happy ending: in American vs. Russian movies, 144–45, 152; lack of, in inaccess stories, 145–46, 149, 150
home spaces/domestic spaces: as ground zero, 77; inaccess stories about, 1, 9, 41, 99, 100, 104–5, 114, 116, 118–19; physical confinement to (“life in four walls”), 103, 104; unrenovated/inaccessible, cripwashing and, 30, 77. See also apartment(s)
homonationalism: ablenationalism as alternative to, 147; concept of, 29; as lens for understanding social dynamics, 148
hospitals, inaccessible infrastructure in, 74
housing: accessible, World War II veterans’ demands for, 109, 132–33; better, intersectional strategies for obtaining, 106–7, 113–17; as both symbol and functional object, 142; in Finland, description of, 130, 142; illiquid market for/scarcity of, 100, 106–7, 114, 115, 119; opportunities to choose, socioeconomic status and, 114, 115, 117; personal and political histories and, 116–17; Petrozavodsk infrastructure, 78f, 81–82, 99–100, 103f, 106, 107, 113, 113f, 116, 119. See also apartment buildings; home spaces
human form, Soviet realist-idealized representations of, 33
human right(s): accessible infrastructures as, 23; Putin's return to presidency and backsliding on, 52; translation and dissemination in Russia, 74
humor: citizen complaints/Russian talk and, 9; as cultural ritual of social communion, 137; disability culture and, 8; inaccess stories and, 77, 83, 99, 140; pothole talk and, 135; stiob, 101, 163n2

Imgur (online image aggregating site), 163n6; images of inaccessible accessibility ramps on, 92, 93
inaccessible accessibility ramp(s) (nedostupnyi pandus): broad circulation of images of, 10, 92, 93; checkmark ramps as, 71, 72, 81, 85–86, 91, 95–97; as cripwashing, 30; friction associated with, 41; metonymic stories/images of, 4–5, 5f, 11, 12f, 92, 93, 149; minimum conditions of barrier-free environment (bezbarʾernaia sreda) and, 83–84; photo series depicting, 4–5, 5f, 159n4; potholes compared to, 138; proliferation of, 1–2, 3f, 71, 73f, 79, 84
inaccess stories, 4; as assimilationist rhetoric, 94; based on disability expertise, 4, 8, 91–92, 97, 140; of childhood, 60–68; colloquial vocabularies used in, 126–31, 128t; commonality with complaints of nondisabled people, 9–10, 94; and community building, 42, 142–43, 145; compared to “pothole talk,” 123; as core element of disability culture, 8; about crip time, 139–40; cripwashing exposed in, 147; difference of scale in, 10; about domestic spaces, 1, 9, 41, 99, 100, 104–5, 114, 116, 118–19; and generative friction, 97; humor used in, 77, 83, 99, 140; as inconvenience stories, 132–34; lack of happy ending in, 145–46; material afterlives of Soviet design and, 117–18; as metaphor for broader failures of state, 4–7, 9, 10, 69–70, 92–94, 97, 138; metonymic/dual-type, 11–12, 149; patterns in, 8–9; performative meaning complementing constitutive meaning of, 122; political changes in post-Soviet transition years and, 44; as political complaints, 41, 122–23, 142, 145, 149; pothole talk compared to, 123, 138, 142; proximity to disability and, 10; about public infrastructure, 8, 69–71, 77, 79, 92; about ramps, 1–2, 71, 72, 77, 83, 91–92, 149; as situated reactions to ableism, 8; as stories about friction, 27; two types of, 4, 5, 8, 10, 28
inclusion/inclusive education: disability services emphasizing, 55–56; movement to assert right for disabled children to, 49. See also mainstream schooling; social inclusion
inconvenience, intentional, as political repression, 139–40, 149
independence, paradigm of: vs. collective Soviet paradigms, 53; disability NGOs and, 55, 56; in Russophone lexicon of access, 121; vs. social rehabilitation, 36, 66–67, 68; Weekend School and, 49, 53, 56
independent living movement, 53
individualism, and Euroamerican disability activism, 31, 53
infrastructure(s): accessible, as human right, 23; imported, ramps as part of, 96; and political consciousness (bytie opredelaet soznanie), 133, 141; recent disciplinary conversations about, 22–23; significance as indicator of healthy society, 143; Soviet, intended to benefit collective over individual, 141; and state power (vlastʾ), 143; as vernacular for expression of sociopolitical values, 25. See also built environment; public infrastructure
Instagram, photography series of inaccessible access ramp on, 4–5, 5f, 147, 159n4
interdependence: vs. legally codified accessibility mandates, 41; people with limited mobility and, 1, 99, 105, 114
internat (specialized school for children with disabilities), 49, 116; vs. inclusive education, 55–56; positive experience at, 61–62, 63
Internet: images of inaccessible accessibility ramps, 4–5, 5f, 92, 93, 147, 159n4; images of infrastructural failures at Sochi Olympics, 93, 94
interviews, 37, 38; interlocutor recruitment, 39; language used in, 40; Spradley method of analyzing, 38
invalidnostʾ (disability), incommensurability between translations of, 32
Irani, Lilly, 72
The Irony of Fate (Ironiya Sudʾby) (film), 101–2
Izvestiia (newspaper), 132

journalist(s)/journalism: investigative video on inaccessibility of Petrozavodsk theater building, 69–70, 92, 132, 149–50; program for disabled children, 54; Soviet ethos of airing complaints and, 131–32
justice: access as shorthand for technosocial infrastructures of, 17; disability access distinguished from other valences of, 18; disability justice movement, 151

Kafer, Alison, 15, 44
Kamalova, Gyuzel, 132, 163n8
Karelia, Republic of, 34–35; minority languages in, 161n14; status as border territory, 35
Karelian language, 35, 161n14
Katya (organizer and mother of child with cerebral palsy), 49, 59–60; on barriers to disability access in built environment, 71
kinship networks: and disability access, 1, 99, 105, 114; vs. legally codified accessibility mandates, 41
komfortno (comfortable/convenient), in Russophone lexicon of access, 20, 121, 122, 127–28, 128t, 129, 138
Kruglova, Anna, 34
Kullman, Kim, 92–93
Kulmala, Meri, 66
kulʾturnostʾ (socially appropriate behavior), as focus of art therapy group, 66

labor/productivity: design as technology of, 24; Soviet ideology glorifying, 33
Lampland, Martha, 75
Larissa (partner of wheelchair user), 98, 99, 118
Latour, Bruno, 80
Law, John, 78, 138, 162n3
legal discourse, disability access in, 17; vs. implementation in Russian society, 85; vs. interdependence and kinship networks, 41; vs. vernaculars of access, 125–26, 164n2
Lena (director of disability NGO), 59–60
LGBTQ advocacy in Russia, 29, 51–52, 69, 73–74, 162n2. See also under homonationalism; queer
limited mobility, people with (malomobilʾnye gruppy): design considerations regarding, 87–88, 90, 120–21; social isolation of, 105–6, 112–13
list(s): as systems for managing global friction, 80. See also checklist(s)

Magid, Jill, 37
mainstream schooling, of children with disabilities, interlocutor's perspective on, 62–63, 64
Marina (parent of child with cerebral palsy), 115–17
Martial Springs retreat center, 91, 162n5
Marxist ideology: and concept of disability access, 7, 20; and contemporary sociopolitical views in Russia, 34; paradigm of bytie opredelaet soznanie (being determines consciousness) in, 133, 141. See also socialist ideology
Masha (wife of Weekend School's director), 47, 52–54
Mazzarino, Andrea, 93
McRuer, Robert, 11, 84, 146, 162n4
medical anthropology, disability anthropology in relation to, 15, 38–39
Medvedev, Dmirti, 50
metaphor: disability used as, arguments regarding, 10–11; inaccess stories used as, 4–7, 9, 10, 69–70, 92–94, 97, 138
methodology, fieldwork, 37–39
metonymy: inaccess stories and, 11–12, 149; practice of thinking with, 37–38
Mexico City, inaccessible infrastructure in, 11, 162n4
mineral springs spa, 162n5; inaccess story about, 91
Mitchell, David T., 10, 29
modernity: accessible design as marker of, 7, 25, 72, 95; post-Soviet Russia cast as failed project of, 25. See also Euroamerican postindustrial modernity
modern nation-state: failure of, infrastructural failure as, 23; responsibility to provide minimum conditions necessary for normal life, 20, 136–37
modern science, list as key to development of, 80
modern welfare state, disability as category of, 16
Moser, Ingunn, 78, 138, 162n3
Mouffe, Chantal, 28
movies, Russian vs. US, 144–45, 152
Murphy, Keith, 21, 24, 25

narrative prosthesis, 10
Nastya (psychologist), 57–58
neighbors, reliance on, 105, 114. See also kinship networks
neplokho (not bad): access understood as, 20. See also normalʾno
newspapers, Soviet/Russian: citizen complaints in, 131–32; references to accessible infrastructure in, 109, 132; use of dostupnyi/dostupno (accessible) in, 124
NGOs: disability services provided by, shift to state agencies, 36, 57, 58–59, 162n3; Foreign Agent Law and, 45, 51, 69; and international human rights discourses about disability, translation and dissemination of, 74; proliferation in late 1990s-early 2000s, 50–51, 53–55, 66, 67. See also disability NGOs, in Russia
Nina Anatoliievna (schoolteacher and mother of child with cerebral palsy), 8, 71; on checkmark ramps, 71, 72, 86
norm(s) (normy): disability rights activists’ reliance on, 81. See also accessibility standards; building codes
normal life (normalʾnaia zhiznʾ): accessible infrastructure and, metonymic association between, 2, 130; Russian state's failure to provide, (in)accessible design as metaphor for, 7, 9, 10, 118, 142; single-family apartment as primary element of, 115; vision of, Euroamerican modernity and, 7, 42, 117, 129, 142
normalʾno (normal): “not bad” valence of, 140, 141; in Russian vocabularies of access, 20, 127, 128, 128t, 129, 138, 140–41; sarcastic use of, 129

Olya (architect's assistant), 87–91, 120–21
Olympic Village, images of infrastructural failures at, 93, 94; as critique of government's capacity for development, 25
ontological design, concept of, 23
Open Society Foundation, 50, 56
Ott, Katherine, 162n2

Paralympic games, Russia as host of, 93, 94
parent(s), of disabled children: as advocates/organizers, 49, 59, 91; balancing of work and caring, 105; inaccess stories of, 8, 71, 91, 114, 116; involvement with disability NGOs vs. state agencies, 58–60
participant observation, 37, 40
peaceful (spokoino): multiple meanings of, 138–39; in Russophone lexicon of access, 20, 121, 128, 128t, 129, 138
Perspektiva (disability advocacy organization), 74, 124
Petrozavodsk: citizen exchange program with Vermont, 54; fieldwork in, 7, 9, 34; housing infrastructure in, 78f, 81–82, 99–100, 103f, 106, 107, 113, 113f, 116, 119; location of, 34–35; NGO landscape in, 45; potholes in, 43, 82, 134, 135; residents of, 35, 36; shopping malls in, 36, 46, 74; vibrant cultural opportunities in, 9, 35–36
Phillips, Sarah D., 57, 79, 93
physical therapy, for children with disabilities, 116
polio epidemic, Soviet silence on, 132
political complaints/critique: accessible design mobilized for, 95, 146, 149; images of inaccessible accessibility ramps and, 11; inaccess stories as, 41, 122–23, 142, 145, 149
political consciousness, infrastructure and (bytie opredelaet soznanie), 133, 141
political repression, intentional inconvenience as, 139–40, 149
post-Soviet generation, first: future of, difficulty imagining, 150; rapid changes affecting services for, 45–46, 60–68
Potemkin villages, concept of, 76
pothole(s): and inaccessible accessibility ramps, relationship between, 138; in Petrozavodsk, 43, 82, 134, 135; Russian terms for, 136
pothole talk: and community building, 137; as discursive register, 136; inaccess stories compared to, 123, 138, 142; indexing imagined elsewhere, 134–35; shared mythology and, 139
Pravda (newspaper), 109, 132
productivity. See labor
pseudonyms, use of, 39, 160n7
Puar, Jasbir, 29, 151
public infrastructure: accessibility ramps in, 86–87, 96–97; vs. inaccessibility of domestic spaces, 77, 97; “renovated,” inaccess stories regarding, 8, 69–71; Russophone concepts of, political history of, 122–23, 130; symbols of accessible design in, 147–48. See also government buildings; shopping mall(s)
public transportation, in Petrozavodsk, inaccessibility of, 77, 79, 114, 126–27; advocacy to improve, 86; and employment challenges, 82; investigative video demonstrating, 70
Pussy Riot, prosecution of, 52
Putin, Vladimir, return to power: and break from reset era politics, 51–52; and disability studies in Russia, 151; and new forms of social exclusion for disabled people, 148; and Paralympic games, 94; and shifting landscape of disability services in Russia, 40–41, 46, 50, 68, 148

queer feminist crip tradition, 38; and global disability studies, 151
queer theory, as lens for understanding social dynamics, 148

Raikhel, Eugene, 51, 137, 162n4
ramp(s): “forness” of, 95; function (access) and form (semantic address) of, 95–97; as simple machine, 76. See also accessibility ramp(s)
relational model of disability, 15
Ries, Nancy, 9, 136, 137
roads: in Finland, contrasted with Russian roads, 130, 134, 142; history of complaints about, 139, 142; quality of, quality of government compared to, 135–36, 137; as symbols and functional objects, 142. See also pothole talk
Romania, temporal inconvenience as form of political control in, 139, 149
Roudakova, Natalia, 131–32
Rudak, Vladimir (Vova), 84, 85–87; on checkmark ramps, 85–86; housing of, 85, 98–99, 118; on ramps in shopping malls, 86–87, 90, 96; on responsibility for enforcing building codes, 86
RuNet. See Internet
Russia/Russian Federation: during 2010s, unique characteristics of, 160n6; ablenationalism in, 29, 147–48; compliance with minimum standards of international access norms, 77; depictions as backward and antimodern, 25; disability advocacy in, history of, 30–34; homophobic policies in, 29; ratification of UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD), 30, 70, 94, 163n7; regional specificity and ethnolinguistic diversity of, 34
Russian language: interviews in, 40; lexicons of mobility and access in, 18, 20, 32, 41, 73, 120–31, 128t, 138. See also vernaculars of access
Russian talk, 9. See also complaint(s)

Saint Petersburg: distance from Petrozavodsk, 34; paratransit service in, 140; ramps to metro entrances in, 92
Saratov, survey on accessibility in, 74
Sberbank, accessible design coopted by, 146–47
Schalk, Sami, 10, 44
self-actualization (samorealizatsiia), as focus of art therapy programs, 66, 68
Sergei (interlocutor with limited mobility), 36, 37; college experience of, 63–65; employment experience of, 65–66, 150; on employment in US vs. in Russia, 67–68; experience at internat (specialized school), 61–62, 63; experimental programs and, 45–46, 65–66, 67, 68, 144; on film endings, American vs. Russian, 144–45, 152; future of, difficulty imagining, 150; on mainstream schooling, 62–63; as representative of first post-Soviet generation, 45–46, 67
Shaw, Claire, 32
shopping mall(s): accessibility ramps in, 74, 86–87, 90, 96, 97; newly built, in Petrozavodsk, 36, 46, 74
Slavic studies, advances in history and cultural studies of disability in, 152
Snyder, Sharon L., 10, 29
Sobchak, Kseniya, 5
Sochi Olympic Games of 2014, images of infrastructural failures at, 25, 93, 94
social inclusion: barriers to, mistranslation of concept in Russian, 57; disability services built on different models of, 60
social isolation, of people with limited mobility, 112–13; rejection of idea of, 105–6. See also sociopolitical exclusion
socialist ideology: and history of disability activism in Russia/Soviet Union, 31; and Russophone lexicon of access, 122; and Soviet-built apartment buildings, 117–18; and Soviet constructivist enterprise, 141; and thinking about built environment's impact on daily life, 7, 33, 130; and udobstvo (convenience), 133. See also Marxist ideology
socially appropriate behavior (kulʾturnostʾ), as focus of art therapy group, 66
social model of disability: built environment and, 15, 74, 141; vs. medical approach, 15
social rehabilitation, programming focused on, 57, 66–67, 68, 104
social relations: built environment and, dialectical relationship between, 141. See also community building; kinship networks
social service agencies: and art therapy projects, 57, 66–67, 68; public funds awarded to, 162n3; state reconsolidation of oversight over, 45, 52, 68, 148. See also disability services
sociocultural anthropology, disability anthropology in relation to, 15–16, 37
socioeconomic status, and housing accessibility, 114, 115, 117
sociopolitical conditions: disability access as metaphor for, 4–7, 9, 10; infrastructure as vernacular for expressing, 25
sociopolitical exclusion: disability used as tool to justify and implement, 16; infrastructural failure and, 23; reconsolidation of social services under Putin and, 148
sociotechnological network, 79; disconnected elements in Petrozavodsk, 78–80
Soros, George, 50, 56
Sots-Taxi (social service taxi), 140
Soviet Union: accessible design as moral claim in, 32–33; citizen complaints in, history of, 131–33; constructivist design in, 24–25, 32–33, 141; disability advocacy in, 30–31; legacy in housing infrastructure, 78f, 81–82, 100; as political project of ontological design, 32; position on Paralympic games, 93. See also socialist ideology
spokoino (peaceful): multiple meanings of, 138–39; in Russophone lexicon of access, 20, 121, 128, 128t, 129, 138
Spradley method of analyzing interviews, 38
staircase(s): in apartment buildings, 82, 110–11, 110f; as disabling infrastructure, 110, 118, 127, 159n4
Star, Susan Leigh, 75, 80
state: accessibility appropriated as business of, 57, 77; responsibility for material infrastructure, Marxist ideology on, 133, 141. See also modern nation-state; state, Russian; state power
state, Russian: and ablenationalism, 29; critiques of, images of design failures as, 25, 93, 94; failure to ensure “normal life,” 7, 9, 10, 118, 142; failure to provide disability access in public spaces, 8, 69–71; inaccess stories as metaphor for failures of, 4–7, 9, 10, 69–70, 92–94, 97, 138; roads as representative of quality of, 135–36, 137
state agencies, disability services provided by, shift from community nonprofits to, 36, 57, 58–60
state power (vlastʾ): cripwashing as technique of, 94; disability as political position in relation to structures of, 44; infrastructure and, 143
stigma (shame), disability in Russia and, 31, 63, 67, 148
stiob, 101, 163n2
Suchman, Lucy, 7
Sveta (wheelchair user with cerebral palsy), 8, 71
Svetlana (sociologist), 49; and programming focused on social rehabilitation, 67, 103–4; terminology used by, 124–25
Sweden: and art therapy groups for people with disabilities, 56; politics of design in, 24

Tania (interlocutor with dwarfism), 129–30, 134, 142
temporal inconvenience, and political control, 139–40, 149
theater(s), in Petrozavodsk, 36; barriers to disability access in, 69–70, 71, 92
Titchkosky, Tanya, 13, 14–15, 16, 20
train station, in Petrozavodsk, 86
transportation. See public transportation
Tsing, Anna, 2, 18, 26–27, 41, 76

udobstvo (convenience): citizen complaints referencing, 133–34; of disabled Russian citizens, unaddressed, 147; and good passage, 138; as political concept in Russophone discourse, 143; political history related to state infrastructure, 122–23, 130, 131, 133, 142; in Russophone lexicon of access, 20, 121, 122, 127–28, 128t, 129, 130, 138, 142; socialist ideology and, 133
Ukraine, Russian aggression in: and disability studies in Russia, 151; domestic actions seen as precursors to, 52; and new access frictions, 152
United Nations: on accessible infrastructure as human right, 23; committee tasked with defining disability, 14; disability rights documents of, terminology used in, 164n1
United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD): definition of disability access, 20, 32; ratification by Russian Federation, 30, 70, 94, 163n7
United States: Americans with Disabilities Act, 75, 164n1; apartments in, 107; citizen exchange program with Petrozavodsk, 54; disability access in, legal concept of, 18; disability activism in, vs. history of disability activism in Russia/Soviet Union, 31; disability justice movement in, 151; film endings in, vs. Russian film endings, 144–45, 152; flow of ideas into post-Soviet worlds, 148; and NGOs in late 1990s-early 2000s, 53–54; popular culture in, representations of Soviet uniformity in, 102. See also under Euroamerican
universal design, of Soviet apartment buildings, 101–2
Universal Design (UD) movement, 75
US Agency for International Development (USAID), 50, 51, 56, 59

Vakas (interlocutor with brain injury), 36, 37, 54, 66, 67, 112–13, 118
Valya (mother of wheelchair user with cerebral palsy), 79, 104–5, 111–12, 114
Vera (wheelchair user with spinal cord injury), 107–8, 110, 118, 129
Verdery, Katherine, 139, 149
vernacular, use of term, 19–20
vernacular design, 22
vernaculars of access, 18, 19–20, 120–26, 148; broader social and historical conversations and, 2; changes in, post-Soviet transition years and, 44; ethnographic research and exploration of, 4, 19; global friction and, 2, 18, 121, 152; in interlocutors’ inaccess stories, 126–31, 128t; vs. legal discourse, 125–26, 164n2; vs. media discourse, 109, 124
veterans. See World War II veterans
Vova (wheelchair user and activist). See Rudak, Vladimir (Vova)
Vreditel Li? art collective, photos of inaccessible ramp, 4–5, 5f, 159n4
Vygotsky, Lev, 33

Watkin, Jessica, 28
Weekend School (NGO), 43–44; closure of, 44, 47–49; director of, 47, 52–54; pamphlet for, 55–56
wheelchair(s): borrowed, in investigative video of inaccessible infrastructure, 70; images of, and social critique, 5; performance art involving, 4–5, 5f, 159n4; replacement parts for, difficulty obtaining, 79
wheelchair users (invalidy-koliasochniki): architects’/builders’ lack of communication with, 90–91; building codes for, 87–88
World War II veterans: and history of disability advocacy in Russia/Soviet Union, 31, 33; with mobility impairments, demands for better housing, 109, 132–33; special moral status in Soviet Union, 31, 109

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