Russia's Economy of Favours: Blat, Networking and Informal Exchanges

ISBN-13: 9780521627436 / Angielski / Miękka / 1998 / 256 str.

Alena C. Ledeneva

Opis

This book examines the little-known phenomenon of blat--the use of informal contacts and personal networks to obtain goods and services under the rationing that pervaded Soviet Russia. Alena Ledeneva analyzes the historical, socioeconomic and cultural aspects of blat, and explores its implications for post-Soviet Russia. The political and economic reforms introduced since the collapse of the Soviet Union have radically affected everyday practices, but an understanding of blat remains crucial for interpreting the social, economic and criminal problems that affect the development of a market economy in post-Soviet Russia.

Recenzje

'In a most felicitous fashion this book weds analytical sophistication to the initimate, inside knowledge and 'feel' of Russian realities. Whether a seasoned expert in Russian history and culture or just a person interested in unfamiliar yet fascinating ways of life, the reader will be richly rewarded by a much deeper understanding of how Soviet and post-Soviet society, worked and goes on working, and what the experience of living in that society feels like.' Zygmunt Bauman, University of Leeds

Spis treści

List of cartoons; List of figures and tables; Acknowledgements; Introduction; 1. Blat: the unknown phenomenon; 2. Understanding blat; 3. The Soviet order: a view from within; 4. The use of personal networks; 5.Blat as a form of exchange: between gift and commodity; 6. Networking in the post-Soviet period; Appendix; Bibliography; Index.