From the power of networks to networks of power

Sistema is an open secret in Russia that has a powerful grip over the society. It represents common, yet not articulated, perceptions of power and the system of governance. My ethnography of sistema is an attempt to articulate, assemble and cross-check such perceptions with insiders of the corridors of power, as well as to explore the daily functioning and mundane practices of Russia's ‘state machine’. The perceptions of sistema are elusive, context-bound, obscured by self-deception and often resist articulation but the daily patterns commonly associated with the power of sistema can be identified.

This book is a sequel to Russia's Economy of Favours (Ledeneva 1998). There I applied the bottom-up perspective to analyse blat, networking and informal exchange at the grassroots level. Here I look at the workings of power networks and methods of informal governance. I explore both enabling and constraining aspects of belonging to power networks and delve into the nuances of how they can be managed. I rely on my respondents to articulate the ‘secrets’ of sistema. Sistema rules are taken for granted by insiders, and their misrecognition of sistema is part of the story. The best sources are once-an-insider respondents, who broke sistema rules and were marginalised, or those who distanced themselves from sistema due to their career movements, personal development and global outlook.