Inspired by the rapid social and political changes taking place in the country, they gathered a group of enthusiasts and started conducting their own independent research projects.
[4] Employees of the Center worked to ensure that the constructivist approach (marginal for Russia in the 1990s) and qualitative methods were included in Russian researchers’ arsenal.
This was made possible by several factors: holding international methodological conferences such as “The Biographical Method of Studying Post-Socialistic Societies (1996),” carrying out educational projects focused on the popularization of qualitative methods for research among young sociologists, and publishing books detailing the results of empirical studies, including “The Construction of Ethnicity: Ethnic Communities in St. Petersburg (1998).” Continuing the tradition of researching relevant social processes, developing new approaches to social research, and integrating into the international community, CISR has organized several conferences: The Social Sciences, Racial Discourse, and Discriminatory Practices (2004); The Biographical Method in the Study of Post-Socialist Societies: 10 Years Later (2006); The Russian Field: A look from Abroad (2009).
[5] In 2004, CISR initiated the creation of the Convention of Independent Sociological Centers of Russia (CISC) which united around 20 research organizations.
In 2000, the German-Russian Forum and the Robert Bosch Foundation awarded CISR a commemorative medal for their “contribution to the training of young researchers.