Needed by Nobody: Homelessness and Humanness in Post-Socialist Russia Culture and Society after Socialism In the vast, sprawling cityscapes of post-Soviet Russia, a startling sight has become all too common: the presence of homeless individuals huddled together on street corners, in subway stations, and outside soup kitchens. These men and women, often dismissed as "lazy" or "drunkards," are in fact victims of a broken system that has left them without a place to call home. In her groundbreaking ethnography, Needed by Nobody, anthropologist Tova Hojdestrand delves into the lives of these marginalized individuals, painting a nuanced portrait of their struggles and the social exclusion they face on a daily basis. The book begins with an in-depth exploration of the material and mental world of the homeless in St. Petersburg, where Hojdestrand conducted extensive fieldwork at railway stations, soup kitchens, and other gathering places for the indigent. She discovers that these individuals are not just "needed" by the state, but also by society at large. They are considered non-citizens, standing outside the traditional intimate social networks that provide a safety net for life in post-socialist Russia. As a result, they are denied the very essentials of human dignity, such as decent living conditions, social relationships, cleanliness, and physical appearance. Hojdestrand's interviews with homeless people reveal that they are acutely aware of how others perceive them, and often reproduce the stigma attached to their condition in an attempt to negotiate their situation.

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