How the new Russians appeared. Who are the New Russians? "New Russians" as a phenomenon

The content of the article

NEW RUSSIANS- a concept that arose to designate a new social stratum that appeared in Russia at the end of perestroika, against the background of the collapse of Soviet society and the emergence of a market economy. In the most general sense, the concept of "new Russians" includes a layer of medium and large entrepreneurs and big management. Distinctive features of the new Russians are the presence of "their own business" (or a highly paid job in a large corporation), a high (by Soviet standards, unthinkable) level of income and a specific, new Russian way of life.

For the first time the phrase "new Russians" appeared in the publication of the newspaper "Kommersant" in 1992. The background of the concept of "new Russians" is associated with the name of the American journalist Hendrick Smith, who wrote a book of the same name in the late 1980s. Translated from English, the concept of "new Russians" was taken up and firmly established in the modern Russian language. The successful entry of the image of “new Russians” into Russian culture testified to the fact that this concept responded to the need of society to designate and understand a new important phenomenon that marked the onset of post-Soviet reality.

For the most part, the phrase "new Russians" refers to the journalistic context. It is not a rigorous scientific concept. This is a rather vague, collective image that carries a significant evaluative component. At the same time, the image of the "new Russians" has become firmly established in Russian culture. Therefore, paying tribute to the cultural tradition, specialists who consider the processes of the formation of entrepreneurship in post-Soviet Russia (philosophers, sociologists, economists, culturologists, psychologists, political scientists) use the image of the “new Russians” most often in popular publications.

Two dimensions of the described phenomenon differ significantly. "New Russians" as a collective concept that expresses some social, economic and cultural reality (or the phenomenon of "new Russians") and the mythological image of the "new Russians" that has developed in Russian society.

"New Russians" as a phenomenon.

Since the “new Russians” are a vague social formation, there are discrepancies in the definition of the boundaries of this phenomenon. Sociologists refer to the “new Russians” as the class of entrepreneurs as a whole, and the business elite of modern Russian society, and the so-called “middle class”. As a rule, small businesses and oligarchs are not referred to as “new Russians”.

"New Russians" appear in the depths of the late Soviet society. The first were the so-called "tsehoviks" or the owners of illegal clandestine industries engaged in the production of scarce products. In the late 1980s, during the perestroika period, private entrepreneurial activity was legalized in the forms of the cooperative movement. At the same time (1987-1988), on the basis of the capital's regional committees of the Komsomol, the Centers for Scientific and Technical Creativity of Youth (TsNTTM), which were the first business structures in the USSR, were created. TsNTTM laid the foundation for the process of exchanging nomenklatura power for property. Party and Soviet workers, officials, energetic business executives, retired officers of the Soviet army, the KGB and the Ministry of Internal Affairs flocked to business. In parallel with the flow of people from the nomenklatura, representatives of all strata of society rushed into business. Enterprising engineers, scientists, doctors, teachers, athletes with commercial skills, energy and ambition started their own businesses. The next stream that forms the layer of entrepreneurs is associated with criminals. Organized crime structures took on the functions of protecting and patronizing commercial enterprises (the so-called "protection"), imposing substantial levies on them. "Roofing", as well as trade in illegal goods and services (weapons, drugs, elimination of competitors, etc.) became a way of accumulating initial capital, which was then transferred to the forms of legal business.

In 1992, the community of entrepreneurs that formed from these social flows began to be called the “new Russians”. Further, as the privatization processes developed, the layer of entrepreneurs concentrated in their hands most of the Russian economy. So over 10-12 years a new, rather closed social stratum with its own life philosophy, value system, and special subculture has developed in the country. The new social category has gone through all stages of formation and has created its own style and way of life, has formed tastes, forms of communication, models of recreation, etc.

Sociologists study the objective characteristics of the entrepreneurial community. In the former socialist countries, the number of suddenly rich people who make up a particular subculture varies from 1 to 5-10% of the population. According to Olga Kryshtanovskaya (head of the elite study sector of the Institute of Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences), in the mid-1990s, the average age of a typical representative of the business elite was 42 years. 78% of them are urbanites, 93% have higher education or various degrees. These people are absolute workaholics, working 12 hours a day, six days a week. Rest is no more than one week a year, 87% of respondents prefer to rest abroad.

The fundamental feature of the formation of the “new Russians” was that this socio-cultural community emerged from scratch. By the end of the 1980s, the cultural tradition of Russian entrepreneurship did not exist (it was suppressed three generations ago). Both Soviet ideology and the patriarchal cultural tradition (from which most of Soviet society grew) were egalitarian. Individual economic activity was not welcomed, entrepreneurial activity was viewed as a criminal offense, and property stratification of society as an unconditional social evil.

A particular rejection of entrepreneurial values ​​was demonstrated by the Soviet intelligentsia, which reproduced the nobility inherited from the nobility's lordly rejection of the wealthy "Tit Titiches". The sixties cult of impracticality and striving for the world of spiritual values ​​rejected the “new Russian”. The intelligentsia's rejection of entrepreneurs was set in the same way by the fact that the transition to a market economy in Russia led to the impoverishment of a significant part of the Soviet intelligentsia, which lost its positions and replenished the stratum of the “new poor”.

Therefore, the subculture of the New Russians was formed in rejection and opposition to both traditional and Soviet values. The attitude of the new Russian to the traditional Soviet man found its form in the word "scoop". The new Russian is an individualist, firmly on the ground, alien to the ethos of impracticality and other intellectual "troubles". Prestigious consumption, demonstrative characteristics of the “new Russian” way of life are in opposition to Soviet traditions. However, a close scrutiny reveals a connection between the image of the new Russian and the characters traditional for Russia.

First of all, behind the back of the “new Russian” is the centuries-old tradition of Russian philistinism. This is a Russian man in the street (no matter what class he belongs to), firmly standing on the ground, having a taste for a good life, appreciating well-being, comfort and convenience. Under all circumstances, under any power, he equips his life, seeks to provide his family, children, close relatives with everything necessary and in his basic life aspirations precedes the “new Russian”.

On the other hand, in the image of the “new Russian” one recognizes the traditional Russian robber, a free Cossack, a gold miner who trash with easy money, exchanging despicable metal for noisy delight and approval of comrades, drinking companions and clients.

In the "new Russian" one can see a well-known character of Russian literature - a suddenly rich merchant who has come to the courage of the money that has fallen on his head, bathes the singer in champagne and smears the waiters with mustard, but, at another moment, willingly donates to the church and charity.

Finally, in the image of the "new Russian" we recognize one of the main heroes of Soviet society. This is a “business” enthusiast who disappears at work until late and gives him all his strength. The only difference is that the new Russian devotes all his strength not to “our”, but to “his” cause.

For a sociologist, the new Russian is an example of an extreme manifestation of individualism, demonstrative behavior in general and demonstrative consumption in particular. New Russians do not manifest their worldview, they stand out for their style and way of life. When it comes to professional activities, new Russians are more often referred to as businessmen or entrepreneurs. But when the conversation turns to the private sphere - about the financial situation and personal environment - then they become "new Russians".

The “New Russians” form a fairly closed environment. Friendly relations with representatives of other strata of society are not welcome here. The typical "New Russian" communicates with his relatives and other "New Russians", their wives, mistresses and children. The language of the New Russians, like the language of any other subculture, bears demonstrative characteristics and allows you to quickly and accurately distinguish “your own”.

The subculture of the “new Russians” is very dynamic, oriented towards Western consumption standards, and easily assimilates any technical innovations and new conveniences. In general, the layer of New Russians is oriented towards Western popular culture and the way of life of the middle class of Western countries.

According to the testimony of specialists (psychologists, sexologists), family relations among the New Russians are quite tense. Wives are usually in a dependent financial situation and live in constant competition, since their husband is attractive to many women. According to sociologists, in wealthy families 2.5 times more often than in the country as a whole, husbands use physical violence against their wives (the so-called “domestic violence”). Family problems are associated with the unequal position of spouses, chronic fatigue of the husband who spends most of his life at work, constant stress, etc.

The mythological image of the "new Russian".

The mythological image of the New Russians is formed in culture by the efforts of the whole society and is reflected in journalism, modern prose, tabloid novels, television series, humorists' sketches, and an extensive series of anecdotes. An analysis of these sources reveals a striking distance between myth and reality.

So, according to sociological research, the overwhelming majority of entrepreneurs have higher education. Education in this environment is a value. New Russians teach their children at prestigious universities. The mythological New Russian appears as a person with a low level of education (three classes) and an insignificant general culture. He teaches the child about folding and slang.

In order to stay afloat, a real entrepreneur works 12 hours a day. The mythological New Russian spends money, has fun and rest. He is not thought of as the organizer of the production of any goods or services. The source of income for the new Russian is air. This is speculation, taking away state property, all sorts of pyramids, etc.

Real business avoids crime, masters legal mechanisms for solving emerging problems and protecting their interests. Even big business, criminal in origin, is looking for ways of legalization, striving for respectability. The myth does not distinguish between an entrepreneur and a bandit. In the anecdotes, “brother” and the new Russian appear as synonyms, and this points us to the prevailing ideas in society about the sources of income and the way of life of the new Russian.

Sociologists confirm the tendency of the “new” to prestigious consumption, but the mythological New Russian appears as a consumer of a fantastic, Rabelaisian scale, in the spirit of an Arab sheikh.

Two new Russians meet. One says to the other:

- I heard now it's fashionable to keep exotic animals.

- Yes, in kind. I just bought myself an elephant.

Hear bro. Its cool!

- Yes, you understand, when he wakes up at five in the morning and goes

to a watering hole, then stomps loudly, wakes up the neighbors.

- Well, what, they will be patient.

- Yes, the neighbors are bullshit. He's also their hippos

The image of the mythological “New Russian” exists in a package of stable associations. "New Russians" are fitness clubs, renovation, holidays in Brazil and Jamaica, a paid school, a house in Spain, a manor near Moscow, a servant, a personal chauffeur, a security service, a prestigious car (six hundredth Mercedes), clubs and casinos, a young wife - at home and a young attractive secretary at work, violations of the law, bribes to government officials, a fierce struggle with competitors, shooting a car on a suburban highway, a luxurious monument at a prestigious cemetery.

Of particular interest are anecdotes about the new Russian. It must be said that anecdotes about the new Russian are perhaps the only and brightest series of anecdotes that arose in the post-Soviet era. The general intonation of these anecdotes is laughing, but often benevolent. The new Russian appears as a "terrible child", absurd and touching, tasteless and stubborn. Its main property, a defining feature, is the ability and desire to consume prestigiously. The new Russian learned the power of money and the charm of spending that money. In this sense, he can do everything:

I caught a new Russian goldfish and said to her:

- What do you want, fish?

Tales about the new Russians are reminiscent of jokes about Vasily Ivanovich Chapaev. The subject is the same - the Russian national character. In other words, the people will recognize their own in the new Russian. The new Russian is a simple person, just like the rest of us, only he was very lucky. Above the collisions of the life of a suddenly rich commoner, the anecdote about the new Russians is laughing.

Sometimes in bikes the situation of a collision of a 600 Mercedes with a Zaporozhets is played up. Thus, in the space of the anecdote, the conflict between the new Russian and the common man is modeled. It is characteristic that the owner of "Zaporozhets" often, in an unexpected way, wins. The old man at the wheel of the Zaporozhets turns out to be the father of the commander of the special forces "Berkut". The little man - the narrator and listener of the anecdote - tries on the conflict with a new social force and seeks victory, at least in the anecdote. Exactly also a cunning peasant from Russian fairy tales fooled the master.

Anecdotes about the new Russians are evidence of the most massive, folklore development of the phenomenon of new Russian entrepreneurship, its inclusion in the world of Russian culture.

Results.

As a socio-cultural phenomenon, the “new Russians” bear the signs of both the uniquely specific and the universal. The specific features of the “new Russians” are determined by the peculiarities of Russian culture and the specificity of the transition from state socialism to a market economy. This transition took place in the former Soviet republics, as well as in the former socialist countries, and gave rise to similar processes. Newspapers write about "new Ukrainians", Kazakhs or Bulgarians. We can talk about the universal laws of the formation of the stratum of entrepreneurs in society that have survived the era of socialism. The “new rich” are made up of similar social streams. They are characterized by demonstrative characteristics of behavior, the creation of a special subculture, the isolation of this stratum, high consumer standards, active, mastering the elements of the Western European way of life, involvement in the world context (frequent business contacts with foreign entrepreneurs, leisure abroad, mastering spoken English), expensive education. The ambivalent attitude towards the “new” on the part of the rest of society also turns out to be universal.

In a broader historical perspective, the new Russians fit into an endless gallery of economically rising social groups. The birth of the “new rich” is a universal phenomenon in world history. A poetic text created in Ancient Egypt that received the name Cry Ipuvera, dating back to the era of the Hyksos invasion, is filled with lamentations over the social upheaval that befell Egypt. The country turned upside down like a potter's wheel, Ipuver broadcasts. The poor became rich and the wealthy became poor. “Those who didn’t even have a boat became the owner of ships,” the one “who was not able to make a coffin for himself became the owner of the tomb, while the bodies of the former owners of the tombs were thrown into the desert.” Similar social cataclysms took place in ancient society. Roman satirists described freedmen who suddenly became rich. "New rich" appear in the mature Middle Ages, and at the dawn of capitalism, and in an era close to us, for example, in England, in the middle of the 20th century. In the modern world, the rise of the "new rich" is taking place outside the collapsed socialist camp. So the states of Asia and Africa, which recently gained independence, are in full swing forming a layer of "new" masters of life.

The emergence of the "new rich" is always fixed by society and evokes complex feelings among contemporaries. Ultimately, the historical fate of the rich depends on what social functions this group of society undertakes, what are its responsibilities, what it gives to society as a whole.

In relation to the culture of the whole society, the new Russians perform the function of a group leading in the development of new household items, household technologies, and lifestyle models. Such realities of modern life as a cell phone, a credit card, a summer vacation in the resorts of Antalya, or a satellite antenna are first mastered by new Russians, and then gradually become the property of the broad masses.

It must also be said that the very existence of the “new Russians” became a factor that radically changed the mentality and psychology of the entire society. New Russians have shown a vivid example of effective entry into the new economic and social reality. The path proposed by the new Russians could be rejected for ethical or cultural reasons, but the fact of their existence cannot be ignored.

In recent years, the term “new Russian” has been heard less frequently. There is a certain fatigue in the culture of the image of the “new Russian”. A seemingly endless series of anecdotes dries up and fades away. Publicists are turning to other topics. The phenomenon hiding under the image of the “new Russian” has lost its brightness of novelty and is gradually moving into the category of mastered realities of modern life. The epic era, when it seemed that one could get rich overnight, is a thing of the past. The business environment is also changing. The formation of mature forms of sociality and culture of a market society is underway. The entrepreneurial class is being cleared of random people. Yesterday's "new Russians" are losing the signs of a diva that amazes the imagination, becoming a solid and familiar element of the socio-cultural landscape.

Igor G. Yakovenko

Something without which "respected people" of the 90s would not talk to you

With the departure of the “soviet” reality, representatives of the so-called post-Soviet elite took the stage - those who rapidly became rich after the collapse of the USSR. In 1992, journalists coined the term "new Russians" for these nouveau riches.

Very soon there was a collective image of such a rich man in a crimson jacket, who is ready to give any money in order to live "like a human being." What were the ideas of the new Russians about a rich life?

Live like in a palace

Joke: A custom-built house was built for the new Russian. But he didn’t like the house: “The doors are somehow narrow, all the time I touch the jambs with my fingers!”

The tightness of typical "Khrushchevs" managed to bore everyone to such an extent that those who managed to get out into the rich began to buy apartments in the same house and convert them into mansions. Better yet, build houses, preferably on Rublevskoye Highway - huge and obscenely expensive to maintain. A la palaces - only with pools and jacuzzis. And, of course, renovated.

In the 90s, the word "renovation" sounded no worse than "baroque" or "empire". In the West, this term was understood as an ordinary repair using European materials of a new generation. But in Russia, and in the CIS in general, they expected from “European-quality repairmen” that they, with the help of plasterboard, suspended ceilings and plastic panels, would arrange in the house something like a compact Hermitage.

Lurid bulky armchairs, giant mirrors in gilded frames, sofas upholstered in natural leather, mahogany dressing tables, four-poster beds and other "royal luxury" were bought in abundance in the "new Russian" houses.

There were even rumors that all these crimson jackets and skinheads, retiring in the offices of thoughtfulness, sat down exclusively on golden toilets. Still, these objects were not gold, but they were often equipped with the most unexpected functions: they measured body temperature and pressure, scented the air, heated the seat, entertained the hosts and their guests with enchanting melodies.

The dream palace of the new Russian. Photo: pixabay.com

Joke: The Rolex company has released a new wrist watch with a cuckoo. Every half hour they tell you how long you have left to live. Lifetime warranty.

Every self-respecting new Russian wore fabulously expensive Swiss watches ("boilers") - usually Rolex.

Models made in gold and decorated with precious stones were especially honored. Putting a fortune on your wrist was good form - without a watch costing several salaries of an ordinary engineer, no skinhead would take you seriously.

Those who had relatively little money, wanting to impersonate serious people, bought fake watches of prestigious brands for this purpose. So, in the novel Pelevin"Generation P" Morkovin by sending Tatarsky for negotiations with a potential customer, gives him a burgundy jacket and fake Rolexes: “When you talk to a client, you know, jingle them like that. It helps. "

Photo: pixabay.com

Six hundred gelding and other transport

Joke: A traffic cop sees - a Mercedes -600 is driving along the road. The traffic cop starts waving his wand and whistling. The car stops, the glass rolls down, and you hear from the Mercedes:- Do not whistle, there will be no money!

In fact, BMW cars ("behi") were no less popular among the raspberry-jackets. For their abbreviated name, the people even came up with a decoding: "the extortionist war machine." However, for some reason, “six hundredth Mercedes” remained in folklore - that is, a Mercedes-Benz W140 series car.

It's funny that the first "six hundred gelding" in Russia belonged to Zhirinovsky.

The most successful New Russians did not hesitate to take other forms of personal transport; while the overwhelming majority of their fellow citizens were jostling in buses and considered it good luck to ride a train as a hare, they plowed the seas on personal yachts and soared in the skies on their own planes. For a while it was in the order of things after a party in a club to put all your friends on a plane and wave off to warmer places.

Gold chains

Joke: The new Russian chooses a gigantic gold pectoral cross.- Do you have the same one, only without a gymnast?

It was customary to wear gold chains ("golds") almost as thick as the hand - over a shirt, a black turtleneck or even a jacket. They were perfectly complemented by gold bracelets the size of handcuffs and massive rings, each of which, if desired, could kill a person.

New Russians and their companions were very easy to recognize abroad - and by no means only by their defiant behavior: they were hung with gold from the very morning, sparkling like walking Christmas trees.

Art

Joke: A new Russian comes to an art gallery, points his finger at the first picture he comes across and declares that he would like to buy it.

- What do you! Not for sale!

The new Russian takes out a chubby wad of dollars, and the painting is still sold to him. He calls on his cell:

- Ale! I bought a postcard for the birthday boy, let's look for a gift now!

The new Russians, strange as it may sound, respected art. They willingly bought the most expensive tickets to the theater - and right during the performance they negotiated new deals on their cell phones. They collected collections of paintings in their mansions, invited highly paid musicians to their name days.

Some even sponsored the restoration of abandoned old churches or invested in the promotion of young talented performers. In general, they were not alien to a sort of old Russian merchant prowess, pushing to spend money on beautiful things - until you were killed in a drunken brawl. Well, or in a gangster showdown ...

- a concept that arose to designate a new social stratum that appeared in Russia at the end of perestroika, against the background of the collapse of Soviet society and the emergence of a market economy. In the most general sense, the concept of "new Russians" includes a layer of medium and large entrepreneurs and big management. Distinctive features of the new Russians are the presence of "their own business" (or a highly paid job in a large corporation), a high (by Soviet standards, unthinkable) level of income and a specific, new Russian way of life.

For the first time the phrase "new Russians" appeared in the publication of the newspaper "Kommersant" in 1992. The background of the concept of "new Russians" is associated with the name of the American journalist Hendrick Smith, who wrote a book of the same name in the late 1980s. Translated from English, the concept of "new Russians" was taken up and firmly established in the modern Russian language. The successful entry of the image of “new Russians” into Russian culture testified to the fact that this concept responded to the need of society to designate and understand a new important phenomenon that marked the onset of post-Soviet reality.

For the most part, the phrase "new Russians" refers to the journalistic context. It is not a rigorous scientific concept. This is a rather vague, collective image that carries a significant evaluative component. At the same time, the image of the "new Russians" has become firmly established in Russian culture. Therefore, paying tribute to the cultural tradition, specialists who consider the processes of the formation of entrepreneurship in post-Soviet Russia (philosophers, sociologists, economists, culturologists, psychologists, political scientists) use the image of the “new Russians” most often in popular publications.

Two dimensions of the described phenomenon differ significantly. "New Russians" as a collective concept that expresses some social, economic and cultural reality (or the phenomenon of "new Russians") and the mythological image of the "new Russians" that has developed in Russian society.

Vladimir Pastukhov. New Russians. Evolution of the Soviet nomenclature... Megapolis Express, February 24, 1993
Valentina Fedotova. "New Russians". What's new about them? What is Russian in them?- Russian Federation, 1994, No. 18
Kryshtanovskaya Olga. Portrait of the modern elite... - Satellite Digest, 1995
Kryshtanovskaya Olga. The elite of the "new Russians" are working hard, including on themselves... - Izvestia, August 12, 1995
Boguslavskaya Z. South facing. Sketch for the portrait of the "new Russians"... - New World, 1995, no. 8
Jokes about the new Russians... Minsk, 1998
Barsukova S. Who are the "new Russians"?- Knowledge is power, 1998, no.
Cherednichenko T. Russia of the 1990s: in slogans, ratings, images(current lexicon of cultural history). - New Literary Review, M., 1999
Semenova-Andrievskaya E. Diagnosis: "the wife of a new Russian"?- Arguments and facts. Internet version, No. 45 (1046), November 8, 2000
Musienko Yu.I. "Stylish" "showdowns" in the interior... - Project Siberia, 2001, No. 11
Kara-Murza S.G. Soviet civilization. Book two. From the Great Victory to the present day. M., 2002
500 jokes about the difficult life of rich people... - EKSMO, M., 2003

Find "NEW RUSSIANS" on

At the same time, they do not have a high level of intelligence, culture and, despite their well-being, they use vocabulary and have manners of the social strata from which they came.

Etymology

History

In the 2000s, the term gradually began to go out of active use. So V. A. Buryakovskaya in the monograph “Communicative characteristics of mass culture in media discourse” in 2014 characterizes the expression “new Russians” as “a phrase that is gradually falling out of use,” which is finally going down in history. In general, in the 2010s, the concept of "new Russians" is used as a retro term from the era of the "dashing 90s". ...

Attributes of the "new Russian" and terminology

The following were considered characteristic attributes in the 1990s:

• A red or crimson jacket is a distinctive style of dress for the "cool", its symbol (also a symbol of bad taste), black jeans of a fashion brand, pointed black shoes. According to the player, “What? Where? When? "Andrey Kozlov, the" new Russians "began to wear crimson jackets just after they appeared in this game. According to another version, Sergei Mavrodi became the founder of "fashion", having come to a TV show in such a jacket. The largest collection of crimson jackets in Russia is located in Moscow, in the private collection of cult clothes of the 90s "Real outfit". Collection owner Dmitry Funtikov managed to collect more than 150 copies of crimson jackets. Previously, these things belonged to well-known businessmen, politicians, crime bosses, show business stars and various media characters.
• A massive gold chain around the neck ("golda"), a gold chain hanging out.
• Weighty gold signet ring ("nut"). Usually on a few fingers.
• Large watches ("cauldrons") of an expensive brand, preferably gilded and with precious stones.
• Thick gold bracelet. [ clarify]
• Mercedes-Benz S600 model of 1991 in the back of W140 ("six hundredth Mercedes", "600th gelding", "Suitcase", "Bandit", "Wild boar", "hundred-fortyoket"), Jeep Grand Cherokee ("tweet", " Cherkan, Jeep, Zhyp, Cherokez, Wide), Nissan Terrano (Tyrant), Mitsubishi Pajero (lean, pager), Toyota Land Cruiser (Kruzak, Cornuser) , Mercedes Geländewagen ("helik", "cube"), Chevrolet Tahoe ("coffin"), Volvo 940, Mercedes-Benz W124 ("Wolf"), BMW 5 ("boomer", "schnitzer"), Audi 100 (" herring "," cigar "), BMW 7 (" boomer "), Lincoln Town Car or Lada Samara (" chisel ").
• Mobile phone ("pipe", "mobile", "cellular"), which until the end of the 90s was considered an item of luxury and prestige.
• Shaved "hedgehog" head (or just the back of the head) ("turnip").
• "Unfolding": characteristic gestures with hands with bent little fingers, forefingers and sometimes thumbs and middle and ring fingers pressed to the center of the palm ("spreading", "folding", "fingers like a fan", "boy's goat").
• Hair slicked back.
• Leather Jacket
• Leather black shoes
• The use of specific jargon (words "type", "in kind", "pure", "concrete", "anyway", etc.). Thug Fenya.
• "Cabbage" - a lot of cash in US dollars, or money in general ("grandmother", "loot", "green", "lave").

The words “new Russian” are closely related to the concept:

• “Roof” - ensuring the protection of businesses, including illegal ones, by law enforcement or criminal structures (“roofs”) for remuneration on an ongoing basis.
• "Brothers" ("brothers", "brothers", "brothers") - come from a criminal environment who used force and criminal methods to resolve conflicts that arise.
• "To throw" - skillfully deceive, "cheat" for money.
• "Arrow" - a meeting with the aim of resolving a certain conflict, sometimes by armed means.
• "Grind" - talk, fight or even arrange a firefight.

"New Russians" in popular culture

Picnic at the New Russians:
one says to the other:
- Vovan, go make a fire.
He goes to the fire, sits down
squatting down and says:
- Well, what a fire, you hit!

“New Russians” have become a common cliche, heroes of many anecdotes, their types have been repeatedly played up in various films, performances and programs. The archetype itself was repeatedly transferred to other spheres and phenomena of life (see "New Russian Babki"). Also in 1996, the character "Vovan Sidorovich Shcherbaty" appeared in the program of the Gentleman Show, performed by the Ukrainian actor Oleg Shkolnik. In the Gorodok program, anecdotes about the “new Russians” were often staged, there was even a whole episode - “The New Russians of Our Town”. The monologues, the main characters of which were the “new Russians,” were performed by Evgeny Petrosyan, Mikhail Zadornov, Vladimir Vinokur and other artists.

The image of the “new Russians” is to a certain extent played out in the television series Brigada, as well as in the film Zhmurki and the TV series Gangster Petersburg.

see also

Notes (edit)

1. Kostomarov V.G.Language taste of the era. From observations of the speech practice of the mass media. Archived May 5, 2014. - 3rd ed., Rev. and add. - SPb .: Zlatoust, 1999 .-- 319 s - ISBN 978-5-86547-070-0. - (Language and time. Issue 1).

The content of the article

NEW RUSSIANS- a concept that arose to designate a new social stratum that appeared in Russia at the end of perestroika, against the background of the collapse of Soviet society and the emergence of a market economy. In the most general sense, the concept of "new Russians" includes a layer of medium and large entrepreneurs and big management. Distinctive features of the new Russians are the presence of "their own business" (or a highly paid job in a large corporation), a high (by Soviet standards, unthinkable) level of income and a specific, new Russian way of life.

For the first time the phrase "new Russians" appeared in the publication of the newspaper "Kommersant" in 1992. The background of the concept of "new Russians" is associated with the name of the American journalist Hendrick Smith, who wrote a book of the same name in the late 1980s. Translated from English, the concept of "new Russians" was taken up and firmly established in the modern Russian language. The successful entry of the image of “new Russians” into Russian culture testified to the fact that this concept responded to the need of society to designate and understand a new important phenomenon that marked the onset of post-Soviet reality.

For the most part, the phrase "new Russians" refers to the journalistic context. It is not a rigorous scientific concept. This is a rather vague, collective image that carries a significant evaluative component. At the same time, the image of the "new Russians" has become firmly established in Russian culture. Therefore, paying tribute to the cultural tradition, specialists who consider the processes of the formation of entrepreneurship in post-Soviet Russia (philosophers, sociologists, economists, culturologists, psychologists, political scientists) use the image of the “new Russians” most often in popular publications.

Two dimensions of the described phenomenon differ significantly. "New Russians" as a collective concept that expresses some social, economic and cultural reality (or the phenomenon of "new Russians") and the mythological image of the "new Russians" that has developed in Russian society.

"New Russians" as a phenomenon.

Since the “new Russians” are a vague social formation, there are discrepancies in the definition of the boundaries of this phenomenon. Sociologists refer to the “new Russians” as the class of entrepreneurs as a whole, and the business elite of modern Russian society, and the so-called “middle class”. As a rule, small businesses and oligarchs are not referred to as “new Russians”.

"New Russians" appear in the depths of the late Soviet society. The first were the so-called "tsehoviks" or the owners of illegal clandestine industries engaged in the production of scarce products. In the late 1980s, during the perestroika period, private entrepreneurial activity was legalized in the forms of the cooperative movement. At the same time (1987-1988), on the basis of the capital's regional committees of the Komsomol, the Centers for Scientific and Technical Creativity of Youth (TsNTTM), which were the first business structures in the USSR, were created. TsNTTM laid the foundation for the process of exchanging nomenklatura power for property. Party and Soviet workers, officials, energetic business executives, retired officers of the Soviet army, the KGB and the Ministry of Internal Affairs flocked to business. In parallel with the flow of people from the nomenklatura, representatives of all strata of society rushed into business. Enterprising engineers, scientists, doctors, teachers, athletes with commercial skills, energy and ambition started their own businesses. The next stream that forms the layer of entrepreneurs is associated with criminals. Organized crime structures took on the functions of protecting and patronizing commercial enterprises (the so-called "protection"), imposing substantial levies on them. "Roofing", as well as trade in illegal goods and services (weapons, drugs, elimination of competitors, etc.) became a way of accumulating initial capital, which was then transferred to the forms of legal business.

In 1992, the community of entrepreneurs that formed from these social flows began to be called the “new Russians”. Further, as the privatization processes developed, the layer of entrepreneurs concentrated in their hands most of the Russian economy. So over 10-12 years a new, rather closed social stratum with its own life philosophy, value system, and special subculture has developed in the country. The new social category has gone through all stages of formation and has created its own style and way of life, has formed tastes, forms of communication, models of recreation, etc.

Sociologists study the objective characteristics of the entrepreneurial community. In the former socialist countries, the number of suddenly rich people who make up a particular subculture varies from 1 to 5-10% of the population. According to Olga Kryshtanovskaya (head of the elite study sector of the Institute of Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences), in the mid-1990s, the average age of a typical representative of the business elite was 42 years. 78% of them are urbanites, 93% have higher education or various degrees. These people are absolute workaholics, working 12 hours a day, six days a week. Rest is no more than one week a year, 87% of respondents prefer to rest abroad.

The fundamental feature of the formation of the “new Russians” was that this socio-cultural community emerged from scratch. By the end of the 1980s, the cultural tradition of Russian entrepreneurship did not exist (it was suppressed three generations ago). Both Soviet ideology and the patriarchal cultural tradition (from which most of Soviet society grew) were egalitarian. Individual economic activity was not welcomed, entrepreneurial activity was viewed as a criminal offense, and property stratification of society as an unconditional social evil.

A particular rejection of entrepreneurial values ​​was demonstrated by the Soviet intelligentsia, which reproduced the nobility inherited from the nobility's lordly rejection of the wealthy "Tit Titiches". The sixties cult of impracticality and striving for the world of spiritual values ​​rejected the “new Russian”. The intelligentsia's rejection of entrepreneurs was set in the same way by the fact that the transition to a market economy in Russia led to the impoverishment of a significant part of the Soviet intelligentsia, which lost its positions and replenished the stratum of the “new poor”.

Therefore, the subculture of the New Russians was formed in rejection and opposition to both traditional and Soviet values. The attitude of the new Russian to the traditional Soviet man found its form in the word "scoop". The new Russian is an individualist, firmly on the ground, alien to the ethos of impracticality and other intellectual "troubles". Prestigious consumption, demonstrative characteristics of the “new Russian” way of life are in opposition to Soviet traditions. However, a close scrutiny reveals a connection between the image of the new Russian and the characters traditional for Russia.

First of all, behind the back of the “new Russian” is the centuries-old tradition of Russian philistinism. This is a Russian man in the street (no matter what class he belongs to), firmly standing on the ground, having a taste for a good life, appreciating well-being, comfort and convenience. Under all circumstances, under any power, he equips his life, seeks to provide his family, children, close relatives with everything necessary and in his basic life aspirations precedes the “new Russian”.

On the other hand, in the image of the “new Russian” one recognizes the traditional Russian robber, a free Cossack, a gold miner who trash with easy money, exchanging despicable metal for noisy delight and approval of comrades, drinking companions and clients.

In the "new Russian" one can see a well-known character of Russian literature - a suddenly rich merchant who has come to the courage of the money that has fallen on his head, bathes the singer in champagne and smears the waiters with mustard, but, at another moment, willingly donates to the church and charity.

Finally, in the image of the "new Russian" we recognize one of the main heroes of Soviet society. This is a “business” enthusiast who disappears at work until late and gives him all his strength. The only difference is that the new Russian devotes all his strength not to “our”, but to “his” cause.

For a sociologist, the new Russian is an example of an extreme manifestation of individualism, demonstrative behavior in general and demonstrative consumption in particular. New Russians do not manifest their worldview, they stand out for their style and way of life. When it comes to professional activities, new Russians are more often referred to as businessmen or entrepreneurs. But when the conversation turns to the private sphere - about the financial situation and personal environment - then they become "new Russians".

The “New Russians” form a fairly closed environment. Friendly relations with representatives of other strata of society are not welcome here. The typical "New Russian" communicates with his relatives and other "New Russians", their wives, mistresses and children. The language of the New Russians, like the language of any other subculture, bears demonstrative characteristics and allows you to quickly and accurately distinguish “your own”.

The subculture of the “new Russians” is very dynamic, oriented towards Western consumption standards, and easily assimilates any technical innovations and new conveniences. In general, the layer of New Russians is oriented towards Western popular culture and the way of life of the middle class of Western countries.

According to the testimony of specialists (psychologists, sexologists), family relations among the New Russians are quite tense. Wives are usually in a dependent financial situation and live in constant competition, since their husband is attractive to many women. According to sociologists, in wealthy families 2.5 times more often than in the country as a whole, husbands use physical violence against their wives (the so-called “domestic violence”). Family problems are associated with the unequal position of spouses, chronic fatigue of the husband who spends most of his life at work, constant stress, etc.

The mythological image of the "new Russian".

The mythological image of the New Russians is formed in culture by the efforts of the whole society and is reflected in journalism, modern prose, tabloid novels, television series, humorists' sketches, and an extensive series of anecdotes. An analysis of these sources reveals a striking distance between myth and reality.

So, according to sociological research, the overwhelming majority of entrepreneurs have higher education. Education in this environment is a value. New Russians teach their children at prestigious universities. The mythological New Russian appears as a person with a low level of education (three classes) and an insignificant general culture. He teaches the child about folding and slang.

In order to stay afloat, a real entrepreneur works 12 hours a day. The mythological New Russian spends money, has fun and rest. He is not thought of as the organizer of the production of any goods or services. The source of income for the new Russian is air. This is speculation, taking away state property, all sorts of pyramids, etc.

Real business avoids crime, masters legal mechanisms for solving emerging problems and protecting their interests. Even big business, criminal in origin, is looking for ways of legalization, striving for respectability. The myth does not distinguish between an entrepreneur and a bandit. In the anecdotes, “brother” and the new Russian appear as synonyms, and this points us to the prevailing ideas in society about the sources of income and the way of life of the new Russian.

Sociologists confirm the tendency of the “new” to prestigious consumption, but the mythological New Russian appears as a consumer of a fantastic, Rabelaisian scale, in the spirit of an Arab sheikh.

Two new Russians meet. One says to the other:

- I heard now it's fashionable to keep exotic animals.

- Yes, in kind. I just bought myself an elephant.

Hear bro. Its cool!

- Yes, you understand, when he wakes up at five in the morning and goes

to a watering hole, then stomps loudly, wakes up the neighbors.

- Well, what, they will be patient.

- Yes, the neighbors are bullshit. He's also their hippos

The image of the mythological “New Russian” exists in a package of stable associations. "New Russians" are fitness clubs, renovation, holidays in Brazil and Jamaica, a paid school, a house in Spain, a manor near Moscow, a servant, a personal chauffeur, a security service, a prestigious car (six hundredth Mercedes), clubs and casinos, a young wife - at home and a young attractive secretary at work, violations of the law, bribes to government officials, a fierce struggle with competitors, shooting a car on a suburban highway, a luxurious monument at a prestigious cemetery.

Of particular interest are anecdotes about the new Russian. It must be said that anecdotes about the new Russian are perhaps the only and brightest series of anecdotes that arose in the post-Soviet era. The general intonation of these anecdotes is laughing, but often benevolent. The new Russian appears as a "terrible child", absurd and touching, tasteless and stubborn. Its main property, a defining feature, is the ability and desire to consume prestigiously. The new Russian learned the power of money and the charm of spending that money. In this sense, he can do everything:

I caught a new Russian goldfish and said to her:

- What do you want, fish?

Tales about the new Russians are reminiscent of jokes about Vasily Ivanovich Chapaev. The subject is the same - the Russian national character. In other words, the people will recognize their own in the new Russian. The new Russian is a simple person, just like the rest of us, only he was very lucky. Above the collisions of the life of a suddenly rich commoner, the anecdote about the new Russians is laughing.

Sometimes in bikes the situation of a collision of a 600 Mercedes with a Zaporozhets is played up. Thus, in the space of the anecdote, the conflict between the new Russian and the common man is modeled. It is characteristic that the owner of "Zaporozhets" often, in an unexpected way, wins. The old man at the wheel of the Zaporozhets turns out to be the father of the commander of the special forces "Berkut". The little man - the narrator and listener of the anecdote - tries on the conflict with a new social force and seeks victory, at least in the anecdote. Exactly also a cunning peasant from Russian fairy tales fooled the master.

Anecdotes about the new Russians are evidence of the most massive, folklore development of the phenomenon of new Russian entrepreneurship, its inclusion in the world of Russian culture.

Results.

As a socio-cultural phenomenon, the “new Russians” bear the signs of both the uniquely specific and the universal. The specific features of the “new Russians” are determined by the peculiarities of Russian culture and the specificity of the transition from state socialism to a market economy. This transition took place in the former Soviet republics, as well as in the former socialist countries, and gave rise to similar processes. Newspapers write about "new Ukrainians", Kazakhs or Bulgarians. We can talk about the universal laws of the formation of the stratum of entrepreneurs in society that have survived the era of socialism. The “new rich” are made up of similar social streams. They are characterized by demonstrative characteristics of behavior, the creation of a special subculture, the isolation of this stratum, high consumer standards, active, mastering the elements of the Western European way of life, involvement in the world context (frequent business contacts with foreign entrepreneurs, leisure abroad, mastering spoken English), expensive education. The ambivalent attitude towards the “new” on the part of the rest of society also turns out to be universal.

In a broader historical perspective, the new Russians fit into an endless gallery of economically rising social groups. The birth of the “new rich” is a universal phenomenon in world history. A poetic text created in Ancient Egypt that received the name Cry Ipuvera, dating back to the era of the Hyksos invasion, is filled with lamentations over the social upheaval that befell Egypt. The country turned upside down like a potter's wheel, Ipuver broadcasts. The poor became rich and the wealthy became poor. “Those who didn’t even have a boat became the owner of ships,” the one “who was not able to make a coffin for himself became the owner of the tomb, while the bodies of the former owners of the tombs were thrown into the desert.” Similar social cataclysms took place in ancient society. Roman satirists described freedmen who suddenly became rich. "New rich" appear in the mature Middle Ages, and at the dawn of capitalism, and in an era close to us, for example, in England, in the middle of the 20th century. In the modern world, the rise of the "new rich" is taking place outside the collapsed socialist camp. So the states of Asia and Africa, which recently gained independence, are in full swing forming a layer of "new" masters of life.

The emergence of the "new rich" is always fixed by society and evokes complex feelings among contemporaries. Ultimately, the historical fate of the rich depends on what social functions this group of society undertakes, what are its responsibilities, what it gives to society as a whole.

In relation to the culture of the whole society, the new Russians perform the function of a group leading in the development of new household items, household technologies, and lifestyle models. Such realities of modern life as a cell phone, a credit card, a summer vacation in the resorts of Antalya, or a satellite antenna are first mastered by new Russians, and then gradually become the property of the broad masses.

It must also be said that the very existence of the “new Russians” became a factor that radically changed the mentality and psychology of the entire society. New Russians have shown a vivid example of effective entry into the new economic and social reality. The path proposed by the new Russians could be rejected for ethical or cultural reasons, but the fact of their existence cannot be ignored.

In recent years, the term “new Russian” has been heard less frequently. There is a certain fatigue in the culture of the image of the “new Russian”. A seemingly endless series of anecdotes dries up and fades away. Publicists are turning to other topics. The phenomenon hiding under the image of the “new Russian” has lost its brightness of novelty and is gradually moving into the category of mastered realities of modern life. The epic era, when it seemed that one could get rich overnight, is a thing of the past. The business environment is also changing. The formation of mature forms of sociality and culture of a market society is underway. The entrepreneurial class is being cleared of random people. Yesterday's "new Russians" are losing the signs of a diva that amazes the imagination, becoming a solid and familiar element of the socio-cultural landscape.

Igor G. Yakovenko