The Covid-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on the everyday practices of young people. In Russia and beyond, young people adjusted to the pandemic as significant parts of their lives had to move online overnight. Universities and schools closed down, careers were derailed and needed to be modified, mobility within Russia and to Europe stopped. Young people in particular now face significant economic disruption, but the fallout will not be experienced equally by all.

At the same time, a duality persists in the Russian discourse about young people. Since young people are less at risk of falling severely ill due to Covid-19, they find themselves stigmatised in public discourse, branded as selfish when they ignore quarantine regulations or fail to take care of the people around them. At the same time, young people remain the biological bearers of a better future and, given that they are less likely to suffer long-term health consequences from a Covid-19 infection, their youthfulness also serves to energise society and maintain vital societal structures: young medics are on the frontline in the pandemic, and young people work as courier drivers and provide technological innovation.

This project explores how young Russians have reacted to the pandemic and positioned themselves as the young generation in the dual discourse about youth. It pays particular attention to the strategies young people have employed to respond to the changing social environment they have encountered in the course of the pandemic. The main focus is on their i) economic practices, that is changes in consumption behaviour and involvement in the labour market; ii) civic practices, that is their involvement in neighbourhood solidarity activities and mutual support initiatives; and iii) self-centred practices, that is care devoted to further personal development and maintaining their personal environment.

In terms of methodological approach, this is a qualitative case study with ethnographical interviews conducted in St. Petersburg and Ulyanovsk. The respondents are young people aged 18–35, with quotas according to gender, age, and type of employment. In each location, semi-structured biographical interviews with 15 people are conducted alongside several focus groups. Given the research focus on the consequences of Covid-19 across different socio-economic brackets, each focus group comprises young people engaged in similar types of employment.

• What strategies have young Russians adopted to respond to the challenges presented by the pandemic with regard to economic, civic and self-centred practices?
• How do patterns of coping with the pandemic differ across Russia?