Takayuki Nakazawa, "Capitalism Russo-Russian Search and Confusion" Summary and Impressions - Recommended commentary book to learn about the disparity between rich and poor in Russia immediately after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the reality of the economic mafia.
This time we would like to introduce "Capitalism Russo-Shinkansha Russeki to Hozawa" written by Takayuki Nakazawa, published by Iwanami Shoten in 1994.
Let's take a quick look at the book.
Three years after the dissolution of the Federation, Russia is on the road to becoming a capitalist state for the first time in its history. However, capitalism, once understood only as a symbol of an enemy regime, now means only unlimited freedom for the majority of the population. This book examines the latest developments in Russia's search for its own path amidst this chaos and disorder, from various perspectives: economic, political, social, military, and diplomatic.
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By Kazuo Ogawa, introduced in the previous issueEconomic Reality After the Breakup of the Soviet Unionwas recommended for a general overview of the Russian economy two years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and in this work, "Capitalism Russia: Search and Confusion," we will take it a step further and learn about the horrific Russian economy.
Before I go any further, let me say that this book made me fear Russia anyway.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the struggle for interests and the deterioration of security were far greater than I had imagined.
Although this book was written a long time ago, in 1994, Russia today is basically connected to the political and economic situation at that time. It was a reality that changed my view of Russia.
The author describes such facts in the afterword as follows. This is a very important section for understanding the reality of Russia, so we will take a closer look at it, even though it will be a bit long.
It is said that Russians run from one extreme to the other. The Russian philosopher Berdyaev is said to have said, "Russians do not know the middle ground," a statement that rings true. They are now trying to jump from socialism to capitalism at once. This massive experiment over such a large territory is, of course, unprecedented. It feels like we are at a point where there is no turning back. It looks as if we are passing through the initial stages of capitalism amidst the chaos. However, there is still a long way to go before we see a soft landing into Russian-style capitalism (some predict a Latin American dictatorship-style capitalism that ultimately lacks rule of law and has been described as "Yeltsin's banana democracy"). When that will be, however, remains to be seen. For the time being, the search will continue.
In this book I have attempted to analyze some of the issues while presenting the current situation in Russia, which is in the process of becoming capitalist. However, due to the limitation of the volume, I could not cover everything.
For example, the issue of bureaucratic corruption. Capitalism is basically a world of the weak and the strong. The bureaucrats, who were the powerful in the socialist system, continue to be the powerful in the capitalist system, and they and the mafia are taking advantage of the legal chaos and sucking up the lucrative profits. This social malady is beyond comprehension.
The fish rots at the head," goes the Russian proverb, and President Yeltsin is no exception to the rule of supreme power. According to former presidential economic advisor Ilariyov, who spoke to a reporter for Forbes magazine, Yeltsin's "gifts" to his military and civilian friends in exchange for their support (tax and duty exemptions, favorable loans, privileged permits, etc.) already amounted to $400 billion. We do not know how they came up with this figure, but it is a huge sum. The tennis coach mentioned in "Yeltsin's Memoirs" was granted unrestricted and duty-free imports of consumer goods by the government. Petrov, former head of the presidential administration, received as much as $100 million in state funds for the establishment of a private investment company. [omitted].
It is even said that "stealing is an innate trait of the Russian bureaucracy" since the time of Peter the Great. So corruption existed even in the Soviet era. However, it has increased dramatically in the process of capitalization. It can be said that the innate corrupt nature of the bureaucracy has suddenly become apparent. The often announced reports of bribery, fraud, and abuse of authority by bureaucrats are just the tip of the iceberg, and corruption and theft are rampant at all levels of the bureaucracy, far removed from the vulnerable common people. In an interview with Izvestia on November 4, Senator Boldyrev (co-chairman of the "Yablinsky Coalition"), mentioned in Chapter 6, made a bombshell statement suggesting that Yeltsin had covered up evidence of corruption not only by senior military officers but also by close associates, including Luzhkov and Gaidar, and defended them against detection by the authorities. He made the following statement.
Furthermore, the current state of the mass media after glasnost was not adequately addressed in the text. The fact that newspapers and magazines are in financial difficulties across the board due to inflation and require state subsidies, making it difficult for them to remain politically neutral, is a major problem. It should also be mentioned that Russia is also entering the age of full-fledged television. As pointed out in the text, the bankruptcy of the investment company MMM was closely related to the hype generated by television. The influence of television is enormous, as more and more citizens are gradually turning away from the printed word and are turning to television as their only source of information.
Iwanami Shoten, Takayuki Nakazawa, "Capitalism Roshia Groping and Confusion," p. 233-236
As told here, the book looks at various Russian dark sides, such as organizational corruption, the background behind the unjustified acquisition of huge interests by a privileged few, and the deterioration of security by the economic mafia.
Even though many months have passed since 1994, when this book was written, the prototype of today's Russia is still here.
In this book, you will witness the horrific Russian economic world after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Frankly, it is a pretty scary book.
There was a world there that was completely different from our idea of business common sense. We are keenly aware that Russia's political economy is not as simple as "communism collapsed and went to capitalism.
I would highly recommend this book as well. I appreciate that it is a new book, which makes it easy to read and compact.
The above is "Takayuki Nakazawa's "Capitalism Russia: Search for Capitalism and Confusion," a recommended commentary book to learn about the disparity between rich and poor in Russia and the horrific economic mafia.
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