Center for Independent Social Research was created in 1991 as an independent non-commercial organization by a group of sociologists. CISR’s activities pursue the following three main goals: undertaking academic sociological research, professional training of young sociologists and formation of an effective research community.
The main directions of CISR’s research are:
- ethnic problems and migration
- gender studies
- third sector activity and social protection
- environmental studies and sustainable development
- social problems in the cities
- new economic subjects and labour relations
CISR also functions as a resource center, conducting research on problems of the third sector, consulting NGOs and offering them methodological assistance. CISR’s archive and library on economics and development topics are free and accessible for a wide range of users.
The website in Russian and in English featrures group and individual research projects conducted at the Center, information on roundtables and seminars, working papers series (only a few downloadable titles), and a list of publications by the CISR researchers (only in Russian).