Russian Capitalism Research Articles

The impact of western sanctions on the role and place of Russia in relations with Kazakhstan (political and economic aspect)

The paper is dedicated to the impact of anti-Russian sanctions on the investment activity of Russian companies in the post-Soviet space, in particular in Kazakhstan. After 2014, Russian capital was forced out of the Ukrainian economy and partially relocated to Kazakhstan, which today is a key place for foreign direct investment among the CIS countries. China, the USA, Turkey and EU countries also show high activity in the capital market of Kazakhstan. The conflict of commercial interests of these countries on the territory of Kazakhstan may become a significant factor of political tension in the post-Soviet space.

Trade in Liushun (Port Arthur) at the Turn of the 19th and 20th Centuries

The history of the city of Port Arthur at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries in the literature is revealed primarily from the military point of view, which led to the emergence of numerous studies and works, while the role of the city as a commercial center has not received proper coverage either in Russian or Chinese historiography. The fact that contemporaries themselves perceived Port Arthur only as a military fortress also played an important role in this. This circumstance explains the fragmentary nature of the source base. The article reconstructs the history of trade in the city of Liushun during the Qing dynasty (until 1898) on the basis of archival materials, sources of personal origin and periodicals. The author concludes that the importance of Port Arthur as a temporary trading port was quite high before the foundation of Dalniy city. The construction of a military port in the 1880s stimulated the development of the city and promoted local Chinese trade. After Port Arthur was leased to the Russian Empire in 1898, the city became dominated by Russian capital. During the period of Russian rule, changes were made in the city's life that allowed Port Arthur to develop along Western lines and attracted immigrants and investment that further developed the city's industry and commerce. However, the purpose of such changes was to establish Port Arthur as a military stronghold of the Russian Empire in the Far East, which made the development of trade in the city unbalanced.

INSTITUTIONAL TRANSFORMATIONS IN THE TURKESTAN REGION: FORMATION OF CHANNELS FOR RUSSIAN CAPITAL (LATE 19TH - EARLY 20TH CENTURIES)

The paper is devoted to the study of institutional transformations in the Turkestan region in the late 19th - early 20th century, which were aimed at creating favorable conditions for attracting Russian capital. The study focuses on analyzing the key changes in the legal system, infrastructure, and financial sphere, as well as on identifying the impact of these transformations on the development of Turkestan's economy.

Development of science in the space of russian capitals: The beginning of the Way

Development of science in the space of russian capitals: The beginning of the Way

Georgian Aristocracy in the Politics of the Russian Empire: Mechanisms and Stages of Integration

This article examines the process of integration of the Georgian elite into the social and political space of the Russian Empire in the first half of the nineteenth century. In this case, integration should be understood as confirmation of the class rights of the Georgian nobility. This process lasted for half a century. The first part of the article analyses the efforts of the Russian authorities aimed at finding an optimal format for confirming the class rights of the Georgian elite. The class guarantees of the Georgian aristocracy were recorded in several documents, most notably in the Treaty of Georgievsk in 1783 and the Manifesto to the Georgian People in 1801. In addition, the rights of the noble Georgian class were guaranteed in several official proclamations of the regional Russian administration. However, the “nobilisation” of the Georgian elite encountered several legal obstacles and was delayed. Another problem of the Russian government was the unauthorised issuance of princely and noble letters by Georgian princes, who, after the liquidation of the royal house of Bagration, were resettled to Russian capitals. The government was not immediately successful in stopping this illegal practice. All these difficulties led to the fact that by the middle of the nineteenth century, most representatives of the Georgian nobility had not received recognition of their class rights at the imperial level. The second part of the article examines the activities of the first Caucasian Viceroy, Mikhail Vorontsov, aimed at completing the process of the “nobilsation” of the Georgian nobility. In 1846, at the proposal of the Viceroy, two special temporary commissions were created in Tiflis and Kutais to examine the class rights of the Georgian nobility. The commissions consisted of representatives of the Georgian nobility and Russian officials. The work of the commissions was completed in 1849, and a year later the lists of Georgian princes and nobles received the approval of Emperor Nicholas I. The Confirmation of rights made the Georgian nobility part of the imperial elite and motivated Georgians to take an active part in empire-building.

«Дрожащая тварь» как прецедентный текст в современной русской литературе

The paper summarizes the usage of the precedent text, “the trembling creature,” in Russian literature during the last third of the twentieth and the early twenty-first centuries. The text under study appears as quotations, reminiscences, and various paraphrases. Its origin is attributed to Pushkin, who paraphrased the Bible and the Quran in his poetry to create eventually a memorable periphrasis of a God-fearing man. Dostoevsky’s Raskolnikov quotes and then paraphrases Pushkin’s text, altering its original meaning for his own motives. Since that time, dozens of Russian authors have been paraphrasing Raskolnikov. The paraphrases of the most renowned precedent text tend to function as “Raskolnikov’s word,” though in a truncated, form they are semantically connected to Pushkin’s paraphrase in some contexts. The phrase and Raskolnikov’s dilemma both became the locis communis of the intertext of all Russian literature in general and Crime and Punishment in particular. Contemporary post-modern prose incorporates the dilemma in collage chains of reminiscences and paraphrases. It is typically used by the hero or hero-narrator and becomes a means of self-evaluation. The characterological aspect originates from the initial dilemma, depicting careerist protagonists who “have the right” during the evolving capitalism in Russia, crime bosses driven by intellectual ambitions, or conversely, helpless and humiliated intellectuals. However, the instability of all these characters’ statuses and the duality of their self-identification are preserved. The discourse of specific characters striving to consciously imitate Raskolnikov or even surpass him features a repeated paraphrase.

Transport system and transport education development: Some challenges and opportunities

It is recognized that one of the most important sectors of the modern megacities economy is their transport system (including transport system of such a rapidly developing megacity as Moscow). The transport system of the Russian capital is a complex structure which includes numerous different types of transport, and is characterized by high congestion, high level of passenger traffic, that indicates not only the positive impact of transport on the socio-economic system of the city, but also the appearance/occurrence of various negative consequences, such as overloading of roads, deterioration of road conditions, suboptimal traffic, unworked routes, difficulties with dispatching regulation of public transport. The Moscow Government systematically solves the problems of the transport complex. At the same time, it is worth noting the significant role of educational organizations (transport education is actively developing): provision of qualified personnel, organization and conduct of various research projects. However, even here there are challenges and opportunities.

“Miraculous Metamorphoses” and “Simple-Minded Tricks”. Performances of the “Ring” by Richard Wagner in Entertainment Culture of Russian Capitals of the Early XX Century

The article focuses on the phenomenon of Wagnerism in Russia at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries and its impact on the culture of the epoch, whose impact is widely recognized. As opposed to the established tradition which considers this impact at the level of the creative elite of the Russian Silver Age, including major intellectual and artistic jgures, this paper raises a question about the role played by the reception of mass audiences in the spread of Wagnerism. Performances of Wagner’s tetralogy Der Ring des Nibelungen by the troupes of the Imperial Theatres in 1900–1914, which caused a great public response, were chosen as material for the inquiry. The article reconstructs the reception of these productions by mass audiences based on reviews in the press, as well as memories of participants and witnesses of the performances. The undertaken analysis led to the conclusion that at that time the performances of Wagner’s tetralogy were, in many respects, regarded by the audience as part of mass entertainment and attraction culture that experienced heydays in early 20th-century.

Dismantling Londongrad: the dark geography of dirty money

ABSTRACT Londongrad is at once a place, a process and a paradox. As a place, it refers to the manifold ways in which London has acquired a reputation for being a safe harbour for dirty money largely on account of a secure system of property rights, a cluster of professional enablers and a neoliberal politics that actively cultivated it. As a process, it illustrates the premier role that London plays in the global system of secrecy jurisdictions. As a paradox it signals the bizarre alignment of two nominally opposed systems, authoritarian state capitalism in Russia and neoliberal capitalism in the UK. Before the war in Ukraine, it was tacitly assumed that Londongrad was impervious to reform because no single political jurisdiction had the reach or the remit to confront this baroque system. Dismantling Londongrad is therefore a belated attempt to regulate the dark geography of dirty money.

Islamic legal discourse on the pages of the Tatar periodical press of the early XX century

The period between the late XIX – early XX centuries in the history of Tatar social thought represents the age of rapid development. On the one hand, this fact is connected with the processes of the formation of capitalism in Russia, since new circumstances required new conclusions of theologians. On the other hand, it is related with the political and economic stagnation in the Islamic world. In this regard, Muslim theologians, including Tatar theologians, were looking for a way out of the current crisis. In this regard, the study of the Tatar periodical press is particularly interesting, since, unlike theological treatises, it makes possible to identify real questions addressed by imams and ordinary Muslims to theologians. It makes possible to study the practical side of the problem.

The Thorny Path of Russian Capitalism in Feudal Serf Russia

The article examines the path of capitalism in Russia during the period of serfdom through the prism of modern demographic concepts. The problems of labor intensity in agriculture are also analyzed in this paper. The author highlights the main features that distinguished Russian capitalism of the feudal period from the Western model of capitalism that dominated in England. The author argues that the high labor intensity of agriculture associated with the consequences of the population explosion of the first half of the XVIII century hindered Russia's transition from feudal to capitalist model of economy. The article emphasizes that serfdom had negative effects especially in the black earth provinces of the Russian Empire. The author considers the Upper Volga path of transition to capitalism, which main characteristic is extreme agriculture conditions, to be the evolutionary path typical for Russia of that period. The fact that the European model of the family was not accepted in Russia in the Late Middle Ages and Early Modern Times also impeded the development of Russian capitalism. The author proves that institutionally Russian capitalism did not deviate so much from the Western model of capitalism, however Russian economy of that time lagged far behind in quantitative indicators. In particular, the author shows that factor and commodity prices were free or poorly regulated in the Russian Empire. The paper proposes to consider the discussion on the nature of Russian capitalism in Modern times with the use of quantitative analysis. The author considers the reasons for the slowdown in the development of Russian capitalism to be the consequence of the evolution of the agrarian population of Russia. Meanwhile, according to the author, Russia of Modern times played a role of an arbiter rather than an actor in the format of the conservative social system that had developed even before the reforms of Peter the Great.

The image of the Russian capitalist in the works of A.P. Chekhov: literature and reality

The article examines the features of Russian capitalism and the type of Russian capitalist, which are presented in the works of A.P. Chekhov Three Years, The Cherry Orchard, A Case from Practice, and In the Native Corner. The role in creating the images of the heroes of these works played by the famous Russian industrialist Savva Morozov, whose actions have become a kind of tuning fork in the assessment of typical Russian entrepreneurs, is shown.

Politiki vremeni, logistika i neravenstva v sovremennykh rossiyskikh gruzoperevozkakh

Based on mobile ethnography among long-distance truckers, the paper explores the temporal dimensions of their everyday work. In the neoliberal Russian trucking industry, large transport companies and their clients prioritize ‘efficient’ logistics, relying on computational calculations and an urge to keep the goods moving. Accordingly, corporate temporal policies are shaped by clock time logic. However, the reality of truckers’ everyday mobility is filled with contextual factors such as traffic jams, time zone changes, and weather conditions that disrupt the clock time logic. The clash between the smooth temporal politics of logistics and the unpredictable experiences of truckers leads to conflicts, requiring drivers to adjust their pace, routines, and bodies, often resulting in a sense of vulnerability and uncertainty. Despite these challenges, the paper highlights how truckers skilfully navigate various rhythms, finding a sense of game-like enthusiasm in their work. By examining the contradictions between logistical clock time and drivers’ time, the study sheds light on the inequalities surrounding the labor of longhaul truck drivers and explores the social, emotional, and bodily effects of these inequalities. Through an inside look into the drivers’ perspective from inside their cabs, the paper provides insight into the workings of 24/7 capitalism in Russia.

Дальний Восток России: традиционные пути пространственного развития и их современная трансформация

The experience of exploration and development of the Russia’s Far East from different directions, at different scales of time and space is summarized, starting from the foundation of Vladivostok in 1860, the most remote large city from both Russian capitals. It is shown that the maritime (eastern) route in the past and the space route today play no less a role in the development of the macroregion than the traditional overland (western) path. The sea ways played a decisive role until the launch of the Trans-Siberian Railway entirely across the territory of Russia in 1916, and since the beginning of the 1970s, the symbiosis of digital and space technologies makes it possible to remove restrictions on the spatial accessibility of an ever wider range of functions, land and water areas, concurrently expanding the opportunities for their consolidation and integration into both the national territory of Russia, and Greater Eurasia. Exploration of Space as a part of geosphere laid the foundation for the transformation of the traditional model of the Far East spatial development, with competition and alternating dominance of the land and sea routes. Since the early 1970s, within the framework of this transformation, the division of labor between modes and systems of transport and directions of communication has been gradually harmonized, when the development of the macroregion from the sea and by land are increasingly acting not as competing, but as complementary

Culturological analysis of the popularization of physical culture and sports in the Moscow metro

The term "sport" is often used as a synonym for the concept of "physical culture". Physical culture is a collective concept that includes the whole range of achievements accumulated in the process of socio-historical development of the people: the level of health, sports skills, works of culture and art related to physical education, etc. In the USSR, the development of physical culture and sports was given great importance. Evidence of this is not only sports facilities, but also Moscow metro stations, in the design or name of which there is a theme of physical culture and sports. The Moscow Metro is included in the list of attractions that tourists must visit in the Russian capital. The purpose of this study is to study the stations of the Moscow metro, the decoration of which is associated with sports themes. In addition to traditional methods, a relatively new method was used in the study – microurbanism, which allows a detailed approach to the study of historical, artistic and other values of individual stations of the Moscow Metro. The scientific novelty of the work consists in the study of cultural, historical and artistic features of metro stations related to the topic of physical culture and sports

Петербургские страницы жизни и творчества Кохановской (Н. С. Соханской)

The article presents new materials about the life and work of Kokhanovskaia (Nadezhda S. Sokhanskaia, 1823–1884), a writer who was close to the Slavophiles. The study focuses on her visit to St. Petersburg during her long trip to the two Russian capitals in 1862 and on the reflection of her impressions of St. Petersburg in her stories. 13 letters, which Sokhanskaia wrote to Anna F. Tyutcheva during that year, are published here for the first time.

ИНДУСТРИАЛИЗАЦИЯ, КАК ЕЕ ЗАДУМАЛ ПЕТР ВЕЛИКИЙ

The reign of Peter the Great (1682-1725) is known not only for transforming Russia into a powerful empire but for a radical change in its economy and rapid industrial development. These changes were dictated by the Northern War with the Swedes and Peter's ideas onto how to manage the economy. The article examines two main aspects of the policy - in relation to trade and industry. For Russia’s merchants this era was a difficult time entailing their actual ruin. Huge taxes and various duties were imposed on merchants and townspeople in general with state active intervention in business, taking it away from entrepreneurs and introducing monopolies for purchase and sale of raw materials and goods. Only towards the end of Peter I reign the system of pressure on merchants weakened. Industry followed a different path: the state used all its means to develop manufacturing. Officials took special care of the sectors focused on military needs. The authorities launched a broad program of protectionism, they in every way assisted the organizers of production, with finance, benefits, protecting the enterprises from foreign competition. It resulted in greenhouse conditions for industrial development. A special issue was labor force at enterprises: the government developed the procedure of attaching local peasants to factories, allowing the owners of manufactories to buy out serfs. These measures contributed to the transformation of industry into a kind of serfdom. All this had an extremely negative impact on the formation of Russian capitalism and the future of Russia.

Коррупция в оценках населения

Corruption is often called a disease of power. However, the disease can be mild and very severe: from a runny nose to inoperable oncology. First of all, citizens can help to make an objective diagnosis, and not biased experts or representatives of servile departmental science. A typical example here is the activity of Transparency International (TI), the politicization of the assessments of which on the scale of the Corruption Perception Index does not cause any doubt. Purpose. To establish the importance of corruption in Russia for the lives of its ordinary citizens. Methodology. The methods of online survey (715 Siberian residents were interviewed using two questionnaires), comparative sociology, forensic analytics and statistics were used. Results. Respondents recognize the most socially dangerous manifestations of corruption as corruption manifestations in the field of procurement of goods, works, services (kickbacks) and illegal participation of officials in business activities, the fight against which is practically not conducted. They assess the dynamics of corruption and the prospects for its eradication of corruption mainly negatively. Conclusion. The anti-corruption model in Russia is adequately interpreted in postmodern approaches. In the conditions of modern Russian capitalism, the real fight against corruption is by and large impossible, so it is replaced by the replication of simulacra simulating anti-corruption activities.

Are Russian Capitals Most Upgraded? (Paradoxes of Settlement Differentiation)

Differentiation of access security of Russians to information-cultural content and cultural characteristics of residents of different types of settlements is considered. Statistics 1970–2020s shows that the differences in the information and cultural infrastructure of various types of settlements were largely smoothed out (although not completely eliminated) in the late Soviet era. However, the absence of qualitative differences between different types of settlements in access to the main channels of constant broadcasting of information and cultural content is combined, according to sociological surveys organized by the Institute of Sociology of the Federal Scientific Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, with the preservation of culturally determined significant differences in the consumption of these contents. This is a factor in the reproduction of the differences between modern Russians living in different types of settlements in terms of adherence to different cultural values and attitudes. As expected, in accordance with the theories of urbanization and modernization, the urban population in Russia in the 21st century is somewhat more committed to the values of modern society (freedom, innovation, etc.) than the rural population. At the same time, the data of the all- Russian sociological survey conducted in 2021 showed strong differences depending on the type of urban settlement. The most advanced in terms of modernization are residents of cities with a population of 0.5–1.0 million people, i.e. far from the most urbanized settlements. Unexpectedly, the cultural values of the inhabitants of the two Russian capitals turned out, in terms of compliance with the norms of modern society, by no means the most advanced. An inverted U-shaped model of sociologically identifiable cultural settlement differences shows the incompleteness of cultural modernization in post-Soviet Russia, which forms the most important components of social capital.

Chinese Peasants and Chinese Agrarian Capitalism: Simulacra of Agriculture in the Russian Far East

The article deals with the problem of object ambiguity in studies of the Chinese presence in the agriculture of eastern Russia. Although since the mid-2010s there has been an intense discussion about the scale, motivation, and influence of Chinese agro-producers on local communities in the Russian Federation, it most often focuses counterproductively on an ethnically and socially homogeneous object. The author shows that Chinese researchers use the category "peasants," although when describing Russian realities, it becomes only a simulacrum that allows to imagine nationalistic narratives about the success of the Chinese abroad, but analytically has no value. Since the mid-2010s, scholarly discourse in the PRC has focused more on corporate actors rather than peasants, but it presents the former as a homogeneous community of investors, at best differentiated by official typology (by the scale and nature of its ownership). A more specific definition of actors has been proposed in the English-language literature. Western researchers adopted the typology of agro-producers in the PRC to describe the Chinese presence in the eastern regions of Russia. However, this mechanical transposition was based on the analysis of media discourse, which created the illusion of the existence of a detached Chinese agrarian capitalism in Russia. The author of the article, noting the complexity of the object under study due to limited access to empirical materials, sees a way out of uncertainty through the analysis of the individual cases of producers or their types. This approach, in addition to specifying the object, makes it possible to show that Chinese producers are integrated into cross-border and local networks that are not ethnically homogeneous.