Between Worlds: Positions of Actors in Strategic Action Fields in Situations of (Non-) Preservation of Urban Wooden Architecture

Abstract

The preservation of wooden architecture in Russian cities today is not only a matter of cultural heritage, but also a context for the emergence of a new policy: participation. Communities of activists, heritage defenders, volunteers, restorers, patrons, and officials have formed around aging wooden houses, united by the goal of protecting urban cultural heritage. However, these actors often combine conflicting roles, such as those of a state official and a civic activist, forcing them to strike a balance between different institutional logics and 'rules of the game.' Drawing on Neil Fligstein and Doug McAdam’s theory of strategic action fields, as interpreted by A. R. Alamsyah and other scholars, this article explores the dilemmas and contradictions faced by actors operating within two different fields simultaneously. The empirical base comprises 35 semi-structured interviews conducted in Nizhny Novgorod, Vologda, and Totma — cities that differ in size, as well as in the configurations of actors involved in the preserving wooden architecture. The findings show that when the logics of the fields — for example, those of the state and civic initiatives — coincide, conditions are created for the exchange of resources and the joint production of public goods. However, when one field becomes subordinate to another, internal (value-­related) and external (structural) contradictions arise, associated with diverging norms, roles, and systems of responsibility. The sharpest conflicts occur between the institutional fields of state power and the fields of civic protest activity, where actors risk losing autonomy or being excluded from the field altogether. Nevertheless, even when actors operate within fundamentally different fields, the nature and intensity of the contradictions they face depend on their position within each field, as well as on the presence (or absence) of strong allies within the state power field. When an actor occupies a marginal position and lacks support from the power field, structural contradictions prevail; otherwise, structural tensions may give way to value-­based ones. Thus, the study reveals how new patterns of participation and coordination of interests are emerging within the sphere of cultural heritage preservation — key dimensions for understanding contemporary social policy in Russia.