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The Conundrum of Russian Capitalism
Book

The Conundrum of Russian Capitalism

Ruslan Dzarasov
Pluto Press, 2013

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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Analytical
  • Innovative
  • Visionary

Recommendation

Looking through a Marxist lens, economist Ruslan Dzarasov examines Russia’s economic slide and attributes it to privatization, the “financialization” of corporations and a corrupt Stalinist bureaucracy. He criticizes “big insiders” who secure their profits by bleeding their companies dry and expand their empires by engaging in hostile takeovers, often with the help of criminal gangs. The result, since the 1990s, has been the steady nationwide loss of earlier economic gains and a decline in the quality of life. While Dzarasov recommends revamping the legal system and enlisting the help of public-private supervisory committees to mend the present business environment, he doesn’t include detailed instructions on how to accomplish those reforms. While always politically neutral, getAbstract sees value in understanding Dzarasov’s ideas. While published shortly before the conflict in Ukraine, his book is a useful, if sometimes taxing, read for anyone working in Russia or considering doing business there.

Take-Aways

  • US corporations’ recent transformation from “managerial firms to financialized structures” is of profound importance to global economies, especially Russia’s.
  • The state of global capitalism and Russia’s ruling elite underpin Russian big business.
  • The Soviet system grew out of the 1917 revolution. Ultimately, however, Stalin co-opted the socialist ideal and betrayed it.

About the Author

Ruslan Dzarasov is a senior research fellow at the Central Institute of Economics and Mathematics of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

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