How russia really works ebook

With an OverDrive account, you can save your favorite libraries for at-a-glance information about availability. Find out more about OverDrive accounts. Culture and Society after Socialism. Alena V. Cornell University Press. During the Soviet era, blat —the use of personal networks for obtaining goods and services in short supply and for circumventing formal procedures—was necessary to compensate for the inefficiencies of socialism.

The collapse of the Soviet Union produced a new generation of informal practices. Ledeneva explores practices in politics, business, media, and the legal sphere in Russia in the s—from the hiring of firms to create negative publicity about one's competitors, to inventing novel schemes of tax evasion and engaging in "alternative" techniques of contract and law enforcement.

Ledeneva discovers ingenuity, wit, and vigor in these activities and argues that they simultaneously support and subvert formal institutions. They enable corporations, the media, politicians, and businessmen to operate in the post-Soviet labyrinth of legal and practical constraints but consistently undermine the spirit, if not the letter, of the law.

The "know-how" Ledeneva describes in this book continues to operate today and is crucial to understanding contemporary Russia. During the Soviet era, blat—the use of personal networks for obtaining goods and services in short supply and for circumventing formal procedures—was necessary to compensate for the inefficiencies of socialism.

Brittany Lauren rated it really liked it Mar 15, My professor required this as one of the texts for the class and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Sadie rated it liked it Jul 09, Ledeneva focuses specifically on the nature and implications of informal practices.

Jen rated it it was amazing Jun 13, In How Russia Really Works she manages to prise open the cover over the secret world a little more to peer at the scurrying life beneath. How Russia Really Works. Her first book, The Russian Economy of Favours,dealt with usages which arose in the later Soviet period, particularly blat—payments made in favours between friends and associates.

Be the first to ask a question about How Russia Really Works. How Russia Really Works: This book is important and innovative, providing a unique ethnographic perspective on rarely visible informal economic activity and dispelling a number of commonly held stereotypes about corruption and illegality. During the Soviet era, blat—the use of personal networks for obtaining goods and services in short supply and for circumventing formal procedures—was necessary to compensate for the inefficiencies of socialism.

Title First Published 26 October Mari Damasceno rated it it was amazing Aug 03, Ledeneva explores practices in politics, bu During the Soviet era, blat —the use of personal networks for feally goods and services in short supply and for circumventing formal procedures—was necessary to compensate for the inefficiencies of socialism. I am doing the research in this field, but the book didnt help me as much as I hoped. Books by Alena V. Bergencw rated it it was amazing Oct 22, Signe-anita rated it it was amazing Nov 10, Feb 25, Emma rated it liked it.

Culture and Society after Socialism. Sustaining the Ties of Joint Responsibility. Publisher Cornell University Press. They ledenevaa corporations, the media, politicians, and businessmen to operate in the post-Soviet labyrinth of legal and practical constraints but consistently undermine the spirit, if not the letter, of the law. Pravda versus Istina Appendix 2.