Russias political system has since the 1990s undergone a radical change, followed by economic and social crises in which the media system, too, has radically changed. This is in contrast to Sweden, where adaptation of media and society to global changes has taken place continuously in a context of relative economic and political stability.

This anthology presents a group of articles based on quantitative and qualitative research performed within the project The Role of Media for Identity and Democracy. The project involves interviews with media experts in St. Petersburg and Stockholm, analyses of the media structure and media contents, as well as comparative analyses of two age groups 17-year-olds and middle-aged people in the two cities.

The project aims at illustrating the interplay of society and media, onthe one hand, and, on the other, peoples media use and preferences, their leisure, consumption and cultural identity, their work activities, social background and poverty-welfare, and their perceptions of societal institutions and democracy.