A very Soviet form of capitalism? The management of holding companies in Russia

Abstract

The transition to a market economy in Russia did not initially lead to significant changes in the social organisation of production, leading some to doubt that Russia was in transition to capitalism at all. Since the 1998 devaluation, Russian capitalist holding companies have invested in industrial enterprises. This article reviews the impact of such investment on the management structure of Russian companies on the basis of a series of intensive case studies. The case studies show a very consistent pattern of strictly centralised hierarchical management, which reproduces many features of the traditional Soviet system of administrative control, using financial rather than physical indicators, with production subordinate to projected sales, but very limited change in the traditional forms of personnel and production management. In conclusion, the question is raised whether this represents a distinctively Russian form of capitalism or is merely a transitional stage of capitalist development.