CREES Lecture - How Russia Really Works: Informal Practices in Politics and Business

This lecture will be given by Alena Ledeneva, lecturer, Social Sciences Department, School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University College London. Sponsored by the Center for Russian and East European Studies.

Alena V. Ledeneva completed her undergraduate degree in economics at Novosibirsk State University (1986) and her M.Phil. (1992) and Ph.D. (1996) in social and political theory at Cambridge University. She is author of Russia's Economy of Favours: Blat, Networking and Informal Exchange (Cambridge University Press, 1998) and How Russia Works: The Informal Practices That Shaped Post-Soviet Politics and Business (Cornell University Press, 2006), and co-editor of Bribery and Blat in Russia (Macmillan, 2000) and Economic Crime in Russia (Kluwer Law International, 2000). An expert on the Russian state and the rise of organized crime, barter economy, and social networks and patron-client relationships, she has conducted extensive research on informal economy, industrial barter, and shadow business in Russia.