The special section of Demokratizatsiya was inspired by the research project 'Network Governance: A Tool for Understanding Russian Policy-Making?' funded by the Research Council of Norway (NORRUSS program, 2013-2016). The project sought to examine how Russian state and non-state actors collaborate to make decisions or, at least, implement current policies with regard to three social issues - migration, drugs/HIV and child protection. Meri Kulmala, in her article 'Post-Soviet 'Political'? 'Social' and 'Political' in the Work of Russian Socially Oriented CSOs,' deals with unusual organizations, which typically do not fit into the overall picture of the Russian third sector, and are overlooked by most researchers. In their article 'You Are Responsible for Your People': The Role of Diaspora Leaders in the Governance of Immigrant Integration in Russia,' Mikkel Berg-Nordlie and Olga Tkach analyze how Russian network governance practices are organized in the sphere of immigrant integration. Elena Bogdanova and Eleanor Bindman, in their article 'NGOs, Policy Entrepreneurship and Child Protection in Russia: Pitfalls and Prospects for Civil Society,' discuss activities of NGOs, operating in the sphere of child protection. This is a special area in Russia, in which NGOs historically play an essential role.