This talk presents in-depth case studies of two major private corporations - Lukoil and Rusal – to show how international commodity exporters have adapted to survive and grow in a geopolitically fraught environment. Such strategies have included expanding foreign ties, reorienting their domestic market presence and lobbying the Kremlin to obtain specific benefits and improve the overall business environment. These findings complicate the simple labels often applied to the Russian economy, such as ‘state capitalism’, ‘political capitalism’, ‘kleptocracy’ and ‘crony capitalism’. |
