With Gorbachev's ascension to power, political opportunities for social movement organizing and protest in Russia began to change dramatically. By the mid-1990s, hundreds of women's organizations had formed and registered with the state in order to gain official recognition. Registration was necessary in order to open bank accounts, conduct financial transactions, and so on. These groups include political advocacy organizations, job-training organizations, professional women's groups, charitable organizations, rape crisis centers and hotlines, women's studies research centers, and a variety of others. Russia's Economic Infrastructure and Social Movement Organizing Financial and other resources are important for the emergence and development of social movements.
Economic infrastructure refers to economic tools.
Russia lacks several aspects of economic infrastructure that are crucial to social movement organizing. For instance, in Russia, there is no such thing as direct mail, people do not have checkbooks, and credit cards are not widely used. It is therefore difficult for individuals to make donations to social movement organizations. Russia's history of top-down political and economic organization precluded the creation of such means of support for social movement groups. This underdeveloped economic infrastructure constrains outreach and fundraising strategies for social movement groups.