Abstract
Influenced by classical sociology, constructionist tradition and Pierre Bourdieu's writings, this article examines the capital of Russian bankers who are perceived as the prime movers of Russia's transition to the market. The bankers were selected as subjects for analysis because they represent profit-making enterprises in a country where money and capital had pejorative meanings prior to the recent capitalist-style reforms. It was not money but social relations that served as a primary medium of exchange in the Soviet system. Exploring what constitutes the major `currency' in the new Russia, this article also questions whether the bankers' constructions of self and society differ from the prevailing code of the Russian/Soviet cultural repertoire that is seen as anti-individualistic, anti-materialistic and anti-capitalist. Relying upon a survey of 484 bankers and 61 interviews with managers from Moscow and St Petersburg commercial banks, the article comes to the conclusion that these bankers possess substantial holdings in the form of money and social resources, and are also culturally well equipped for market experiences. However, their economic, social and cultural capital is only partially converted into symbolic capital interpreted as the most universal form of capital. Inadequacy of symbolic capital may question the legitimacy of other economic, social and cultural assets, and have negative repercussions for market-building in Russia.
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