Personal connections and informalnetworks: the transformation of "blat"inRussia

Abstract

The article is based on original study of "blat practices" - the use of personal networks and informal contacts to obtain goods and services in short supply and to influence decision - making. It analyses changes in everyday practice in post-soviet context and argues that "blat" continues to determine the ways in which things are done in Russia. The complete study is presented in A. Ledeneva's "Russia's economy of favors: blat, networking and informal exchange". Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998.