Uneasy translations: vernacularizing demography for post‐Soviet statecraft

Abstract

The article explores a series of professional development seminars for state bureaucrats in the context of the moral panic over Russia's 'demographic crisis'. It follows the vernacularization of social knowledge for state bureaucrats -a central practice that marks these pedagogical engagements. The article explores this practice's potentialities and limitations for effectively communicating social knowledge to administrative audiences. It grounds itself in the theoretical discussions of expertise and demonstrates how vernacularizing social knowledge for post-Soviet statecraft shapes the social and political meanings of Russia's demographic crisis, investing state policies and discourses with authority.