The Russian Mafia

MAN WITH A RUBLE - MIKHAIL KHODORKOVSKY

By the early 90s nobody asked questions about the ethics of doing business. There were no rules.  A businessman was driven or stopped only by what was inside. Some people thought it was okay to kill but not to touch family members.

The new class of businessmen that emerged from the rubble of the Soviet economy thought of themselves as the champions of capitalism as they understood it.  In some ways they were victims of Soviet propaganda that portrayed capitalism as a cutthroat cynical system where craftiness and ruthlessness were more important than integrity, where everyone screws each other and money is the only arbiter of success.

Russian capitalism was far removed from the concept of honor, competition, fair play or Protestant ethics. it was not built on the centuries- long tradition of private property, feudal honor and dignity.  in fact it hardly had any foundation at all other than the Marxist-Leninist conception of private property as theft.

Since Russia's new businessman favored property they did not mind theft. The words conscience, morality and integrity, were used by their father's generation. For us, these were swear words which the Soviet system professed in its slogans while killing and depriving people.

 Vladimir Yakovlev  said “The tenants of socialism were removed only to reveal a vacuum of morals… in itself the results of the Soviet experiment in breeding a new being. the transition from Soviet to post Soviet society was accompanied by a change in perception of what makes one succeed in life not diligence and hard work. these would get you nowhere, but good connections, dexterity and being a good wheeler dealer. The first Russian businessmen had all these qualities and boasted about about them.

It is the realization of the right to riches. Our clear tasks are defined. Goals are clear. We aspire to be billionaires.

The Communist Party was a good school. It took away a lot but it also gave a lot of experience, in connections, life status…corruption, black markets…

Enough of living according to Marxist principles. Our compass is profit games.    …our hero, his Financial Majesty; Capital.  Since only he could lead to riches as a norm of life. Enough of utopia, the future is business. The man who can turn a dollar into a billion is a genius.