Module 5 Russian Oligarchs Discussion
For Discussion Forum 5, please address any of the questions below. As always: you are required to make a minimum of THREE (3) posts per module. At least one of your three posts should be your own original comment; at least one – should be a response to or comment on something another classmate has posted; the third post can be either your own original post or a comment on a classmate’s post. Keep in mind that your response should NOT simply be a summary of the assigned reading. A higher grade will be awarded to posts that demonstrate student’s ability to provide an original interpretation of the topic while also applying relevant concepts, issues, and theories covered in the module.
1. It appears that Mikhail Khodorkovsky has quite a number of images in Russian cultural discourse. He is the oligarch who “stole money from the Russians.” He is also a martyr and “a prisoner of conscience” who suffered from Putin’s regime. And yet again, he is the opposition leader trying to rally his Russian compatriots in the blogosphere. Based on this module’s readings and videos, explain how these (and perhaps other?) images co-exist as part of Russia’s collective perception of Khodorkovsky. Do you feel that the director of the film Khodorkovsky takes a particular stance towards this former oligarch?
2. The film Khodorkovsky begins with a group of young people stating that they either don’t know who Khodorkovsky is or explaining that he is the person who stole lots of money from Russia. Khodorkovsky himself admits that in the 1990s he was far from being “saintly,” yet claims that – at the time – he was simply playing by the rules of his society. The sentiment that Khodorkovsky (and other oligarchs) are basically corrupt tycoons with criminal associations, who promoted their private interests against their country’s well-being, is quite common in today’s Russia. Based on your readings and video materials, discuss why Russians might feel this way towards Khodorkovsky.
3. Discuss how patterns and functions of advertisement in Russia changed from Soviet to post-Soviet times. What new ads appeared in the Putin era? From what you have read and studied so far, how is Soviet and today’s Russian advertisement different from what a Western consumer is used to? Discuss any one of the advertisement campaigns that Birgit Beumers desccribes in her essay “Consumer Culture”: how is this specific ad similar to or different from what a Western consumer sees?
4. Here’s a question meant for the economics / business majors among us. How do you think Bolris Yeltsin’s economic policies of the early 1990’s (especially the economic shock therapy) allow for the emergence of Russia’s oligarchs? Give specific examples from the readings and video materials of the course.
5. From what you have understood from this module (and other readings in this course), what is the nature of the relationship between the economy and politics in Russia? What was the significance of oligarchs in Russia of Boris Yeltsin? Has this significance changed under Vladimir Putin’s presidency?
6. What particularly surprised you in this module’s readings and viewings? What new insights did you gain into the world of contemporary Russia and Russians? Give specific examples from the readings / viewings.
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