'Russia's Economy of Favours provides fascinating insights into an important and neglected aspect of Soviet/Russian society. Anthropologists, sociologists, and historians will all benefit from this vivid and informed study, based on interview data from the early 1990s, of Russian networking practices. This work by a young Russian scholar is a fine example of an emerging post-Soviet Russian scholarship that combines theoretical sophistication with a solid empirical base and a native 'feel' for the situation.' Sheila Fitzpatrick, University of Chicago

• List of cartoons; List of figures and tables; Acknowledgements; Introduction; 1. Blat: the unknown phenomenon; 2. Understanding blat; 3. The Soviet order: a view from within; 4. The use of personal networks; 5.Blat as a form of exchange: between gift and commodity; 6. Networking in the post-Soviet period; Appendix; Bibliography; Index.

'Russia's Economy of Favours provides fascinating insights into an important and neglected aspect of Soviet/Russian society. Anthropologists, sociologists, and historians will all benefit from this vivid and informed study, based on interview data from the early 1990s, of Russian networking practices. This work by a young Russian scholar is a fine example of an emerging post-Soviet Russian scholarship that combines theoretical sophistication with a solid empirical base and a native 'feel' for the situation.' Sheila Fitzpatrick, University of Chicago

• List of cartoons; List of figures and tables; Acknowledgements; Introduction; 1. Blat: the unknown phenomenon; 2. Understanding blat; 3. The Soviet order: a view from within; 4. The use of personal networks; 5.Blat as a form of exchange: between gift and commodity; 6. Networking in the post-Soviet period; Appendix; Bibliography; Index.

'Russia's Economy of Favours provides fascinating insights into an important and neglected aspect of Soviet/Russian society. Anthropologists, sociologists, and historians will all benefit from this vivid and informed study, based on interview data from the early 1990s, of Russian networking practices. This work by a young Russian scholar is a fine example of an emerging post-Soviet Russian scholarship that combines theoretical sophistication with a solid empirical base and a native 'feel' for the situation.' Sheila Fitzpatrick, University of Chicago

• List of cartoons; List of figures and tables; Acknowledgements; Introduction; 1. Blat: the unknown phenomenon; 2. Understanding blat; 3. The Soviet order: a view from within; 4. The use of personal networks; 5.Blat as a form of exchange: between gift and commodity; 6. Networking in the post-Soviet period; Appendix; Bibliography; Index.