DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGES, LITERATURES AND CULTURES Spring 2014 RUT 4930 Variable Topics in Russian Studies: Russian Business Culture (FLAS, 1 credit) Classes: 1 period a week W 6: 12:50‐1:40 p.m. Room: MAT (Matherly Hall) 0002 Final take‐home exam in the form of a 1,200‐
1,500‐word essay on a pre‐approved, course‐
relevant topic. Instructor: Dr Aleksandr L’vovich Burak Dauer Hall, room 381 E‐mail: alburak@ufl.edu Tel: (352) 273‐3798 Office hours: W – period 7 (1:55‐2:45 p.m.) and R – period 6 (12:50‐1:40 p.m.) or by appointment Course aims A brief overview of the history of private enterprise in Russia (1987 – present) An introduction to the current business practices (economic, financial, and managerial) Expected course outcomes Understanding and informed analysis of the current economic and financial situation in Russia Final grade components Attendance – 40% Class participation – 30% Final take‐home exam – 30% Attendance, preparation for class (doing assigned out‐of‐class readings and viewing video materials online prior to class) and class participation (not shying away from discussions in class) will be taken very seriously and duly reflected in the determination of your final grade. Grading scale The following scale will be used in grading the final exam paper and calculating the overall grade for the course (for details concerning UF grades and grading policies go to https://catalog.ufl.edu/ugrad/current/regulations/info/grades.aspx): A = 95 – 100% ©(4 points) B ‐ = 75‐79% (2.67 points) D + = 55‐59% (1.33 points) 2 A ‐ = 90 – 94% (3.67 points) C+ = 70 – 74% (2.33 points) D = 50 – 54% (1.0 point) B+ = 85 – 89% (3.33 points) C = 65 – 69% (2.0 points) D ‐ = 45 – 49% (0.67 points) B = 80 – 84% (3.0 points) C ‐ = 60‐64% (1.67 points) E = 40 – 44% (0 – Failure) Course materials All the course materials will be found on the Internet (most of them are given in the following schedule of classes). Additional general information can be found on these sites: http://www.worldbusinessculture.com/Business‐in‐Russia.html Business Culture in Russia http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/etiquette/doing‐business‐russia.html Basic etiquette http://www.ediplomat.com/np/cultural_etiquette/ce_ru.htm More on business etiquette http://valdaiclub.com/economy/56880.html Difficulty in doing business in Russia Schedule of Topics This schedule of topics, readings, screenings and discussions is not set in stone and may change as the semester progresses, depending on the progress of the class and, consequently, time availability. Week 1 (Jan. 8): Course overview. Doing Business in Russia: Video Clips http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsCMJeov5IA&NR=1 (0:52)– If you do business in Russia, you’ll lose all your money… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOPuvTMndIs (4:04) – This is Russia (Point of Purchase – a commercial). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ng7BHxhUdk8 (6:08) – Russia through American eyes. Week 2 (Jan. 15): The Concepts of “Capitalism,” “Socialism” (a political and economic theory of social organization that advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole), and “Communism” (a political theory derived from Karl Marx, advocating class war and leading to a society in which all property is publicly owned and each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs). Each for himself, and the devil take the hindmost. (A proverbial phrase indicating that those who lag behind will receive no aid. The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations lists "Every man for himself and the Devil take the hindmost" as an 'early 16th century' proverb.) From each according to his abilities – to each according to his work. From each according to his abilities – to each according to his needs. Social stratification under socialism and capitalism. The code of the “builder of communism.” Why socialism fell apart in the Soviet Union. © 2014 Alexander Burak 3 (Uravnilovka – One‐size‐fits‐all labor remuneration. The nomenklatura compromised the ideology. Lack of incentives doomed the economy. The nomenklatura was too obtuse and unwieldy to implement even gradual reform.) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communism; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Program_of_the_Communist_Party_of_the_Soviet_Union; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_Code_of_the_Builder_of_Communism; definitions of the latter two: https://www2.stetson.edu/secure/history/hy308C01/cpsuprogram.html (last accessed December 7, 2013). Week 3 (Jan. 22): The Beginnings of Private Enterprise in Russian in the Period of Perestroika (the late 1980s—early 1990s): The First “Co‐Operatives,” Joint Ventures, and Joint‐Stock Companies. (Parfyonov: Namedni). http://www.inosmi.ru/world/20130526/209365303.html (last accessed Dec. 5, 2013) “Co‐
operatives” in the 1980s. “We expected the best possible outcomes, but things turned out the way they usually do (in Russia)” (Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin). Week 4 (Jan. 29): First Russian Commercials (Imperial Bank, MMM, and others). World History from Imperial Bank: http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%92%D1%81%D0%B5%D0%BC%D0%B8%D1%80%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1
%8F_%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%8F,_%D0%91%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%BA
_%D0%98%D0%BC%D0%BF%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%B0%D0%BB#.D0.98.D0.B2.D0.B0.D0.BD_IV_
.D0.93.D1.80.D0.BE.D0.B7.D0.BD.D1.8B.D0.B9 Week 5 (Feb. 5): Yeltsin. Privatization Russian‐Style: Private Ownership Vouchers (1992) and “Cash‐for‐
Shares” Auctions (1995‐96). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privatization_in_Russia (last accessed Nov. 7, 2013). Yeltsin “Moments.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R‐z9wfueMAw (last accessed December 8, 2013). Week 6 (Feb 12): The Russian Oligarchs. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oligarchy (What is “oligarchy”?) The “Seven Bankers’ Rule.” Russian Oligarchs: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_oligarchs; A Brief History of the Russian Oligarchy: Un point de vue français: http://marknesop.wordpress.com/2010/11/24/a‐brief‐history‐of‐the‐russian‐oligarchy‐un‐point‐de‐vue‐
francais/; Portrait of a Russian Oligarch: http://www.vice.com/Fringes/portrait‐of‐a‐russian‐oligarch – a video 8:25 min. long (all sites last accessed Nov. 7, 2013). © 2014 Alexander Burak 4 Weeks 7‐9 (Feb. 19, 26; March 12): The Wild (“Roaring”) 1990s. Documentary “Thieves‐in‐Law.” Документальный фильм “Воры в законе.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwB9q31Jkew (last accessed December 9, 2013). Weeks 10‐11 (March 19, 26): Case study: MMM – the Biggest Ponzi Scheme in the History of Private Enterprise. The MMM Ponzi scheme. Commercials with Lyonya Golubkov. http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9C%D0%9C%D0%9C (in Russian) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyonya_Golubkov (in English) http://cyclowiki.org/wiki/%D0%9B%D1%91%D0%BD%D1%8F_%D0%93%D0%BE%D0%BB%D1%83%D0%
B1%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B2 (Lyonya Golubkov commercials) Week 12 (April 2): Forms of Ownership and Business Enterprises in Russia (AO, OAO, ZAO, FGUP, IChP and some others). Week 13 (April 9): Russian State‐Controlled Capitalism (2000‐2014). Richard Pipes on the future of Russia. http://www.vedomosti.ru/video/1_2501 (3:22, last accessed December 9, 2013). Flight of Capital from Russia. (On the Run – V Begakh, Mamontov, “Special Correspondent,” Oct. 15, 2013). Week 14 (April 16): Putin’s Program for the Future of Russia. Putin at Valdai (Sept. 19, 2013 ‐ http://valdaiclub.com/valdai_club/62642.html). Annual Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly (Dec. 12, 2013 ‐ http://rt.com/politics/official‐word/presidential‐address‐federal‐assembly‐177/). Putin’s Annual Press Conference on Dec. 19, 2013 ‐ http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/19/russia‐
never‐worked‐edward‐snowden‐nsa‐putin (key topics); http://rt.com/news/putin‐press‐conference‐
updates‐453/ (best quotes). Excerpts from the movie “Dead Man’s Bluff” (Alexey Balabanov, 2005). Week 15 (April 23): Excerpts from the movie “Dead Man’s Bluff” (Alexey Balabanov, 2005). Final take‐home exam deadline Your write‐at‐home final exam paper is to be e‐mailed to me no later than 5:00 p. m. on May 1 (Thursday), 2014 (preferably earlier than that). It should be sent as an attached Microsoft Word file (!). The text of the paper should be double‐spaced, use a size 12 font, and be 1,200‐1,500 words long. Referencing your final paper © 2014 Alexander Burak 5 Your final paper should be properly referenced. All the sources that you have used in preparing and writing your final paper should be included as footnotes or endnotes. For books, include the author/s, title, place of publication, publisher, overall number of pages, and the pages you are specifically referring to. If the source is a translation, you also need to give the name of the translator and the year the translation first came out or the translation copyright was registered (if at all possible). Any references to texts, or visual, or sound materials online should be supplied with the relevant Internet address (in a footnote or endnote) following the words “Retrieved from”. Don’t forget to include your own first and last names followed by your e‐mail address in front of the title/topic of your final paper. Expected class demeanor Please, come to class on time. No cell phone or computer use unrelated to class work will be allowed. I would also appreciate it if you would refrain from eating, drinking or chewing gum while the class is in progress. Missed coursework and make‐up work Make‐up written work may be assigned in exceptional cases, when absences were caused by unavoidable documented circumstances. Generally, you will be expected to catch up on your own by doing the missed home assignments and studying the class notes taken by your classmates when you were absent. With a short course like this, missing even one class will increase the risk of doing poorly on the final exam and having your final grade adversely affected. Unless you provide a doctor’s sickness note or other official documentation specifying valid reasons for missing a class, any missed classes will be factored into your final grade. If you expect some serious personal reasons to prevent you from attending class, please, let me know about them before you miss the class so that we can work out an accommodation. Classroom accommodation Students requesting classroom and/or test/exam accommodation must first register with the Dean of Students Office. The Dean of Students Office will provide documentation to the student who must then provide this documentation to the Instructor when requesting accommodation. Students with disabilities Students with physical, learning, sensory or psychological disabilities will be accommodated in accordance with the relevant policies adopted at UF (for details, please, visit http://www.dso.ufl.edu/drc/). UF student honor code © 2014 Alexander Burak 6 Please, refer to the following webpage: http://www.dso.ufl.edu/sccr/honorcodes/honorcode.php. © 2014 Alexander Burak