How have women's lives changed in the republics of the former Soviet Union since the fall of the USSR? This is the first book systematically to examine changes and continuities across these states, focusing on women and work, social roles and women in politics. Drawing on interviews with women in factories, on farms and with women streetsellers, politicians and activists, the book questions whether women are "victims" or "agents" of change, and describes various strategies of coping and adaptation to new economic and social instabilities.