1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910465634003321

Autore

Volkov Vadim <1965->

Titolo

Violent entrepreneurs : the use of force in the making of Russian capitalism / / Vadim Volkov

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Ithaca, New York ; ; London, [England] : , : Cornell University Press, , 2002

©2002

ISBN

1-5017-0328-5

1-5017-0329-3

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (220 p.)

Disciplina

364.1/06/0947

Soggetti

Organized crime - Russia (Federation)

Capitalism - Russia (Federation)

Law enforcement - Russia (Federation)

Electronic books.

Russia (Federation) Social conditions 1991-

Russia (Federation) Politics and government 1991-

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Veblen's warning -- Violent entrepreneurship -- The violence-managing agency -- Bandits and capitalists -- The privatization of the power ministries -- The politics of state formation.

Sommario/riassunto

Entering the shady world of what he calls "violent entrepreneurship," Vadim Volkov explores the economic uses of violence and coercion in Russia in the 1990s. Violence has played, he shows, a crucial role in creating the institutions of a new market economy. The core of his work is competition among so-called violence-managing agencies-criminal groups, private security services, private protection companies, and informal protective agencies associated with the state-which multiplied with the liberal reforms of the early 1990s. This competition provides an unusual window on the dynamics of state formation. Violent Entrepreneurs is remarkable for its research. Volkov conducted numerous interviews with members of criminal groups, heads of protection companies, law enforcement employees, and



businesspeople. He bases his findings on journalistic and anecdotal evidence as well as on his own personal observation. Volkov investigates the making of violence-prone groups in sports clubs (particularly martial arts clubs), associations for veterans of the Soviet-Afghan war, ethnic gangs, and regionally based social groups, and he traces the changes in their activities across the decade. Some groups wore state uniforms and others did not, but all of their members spoke and acted essentially the same and were engaged in the same activities: intimidation, protection, information gathering, dispute management, contract enforcement, and taxation. Each group controlled the same resource-organized violence.