Literary texts and movies on Russian business culture

[Josh Wilson]

On TV shows, there was another based on the Donald-Trump-hosted show that
was aired on Russia's TNT awhile back. Was hosted, if I recall correct, by
the billionaire CEO of Norilsk Nickel, Vladimir Pontain. However, it seemed
to me that one - and Ne rodis krasivoi - were highly, highly dramatized. I
wouldn't take either one to reflect what Russian business culture is
actually like (any more than "Just Shoot Me" show's Americas office life).

I strongly second anything by Evgenii Grishkovetz, however. Rubashka is a
fantastic depiction of a middle-class Russian man interacting in a
contemporary business setting and, in my view, hits a lot of the problems
currently facing that business environment spot-on.  

While the book is not available in English, it is written is a very simple,
humorous Russian prose. I've recommended his stuff to many of our
upper-intermediate students and have seen them read the books cover-to-cover
with the help of a dictionary. Another of his books, Reki, deals quite a bit
with life (and microeconomics) in the provinces. One disclaimer -
Grishkovetz does not shy from profanity - though he does not overuse it
either. 

Best, 



Josh Wilson
Asst. Director
The School of Russian and Asian Studies
Editor-in-Chief
Vestnik, The Journal of Russian and Asian Studies
www.sras.org
jwilson at sras.org



-----Original Message-----
From: SEELANGS: Slavic & East European Languages and Literatures list
[mailto:SEELANGS at BAMA.UA.EDU] On Behalf Of REEI
Sent: Monday, November 19, 2007 4:02 PM
To: SEELANGS at BAMA.UA.EDU
Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] Literary texts and movies on Russian business
culture

Hi Laura,

The movie "Oligarkh" immediately comes to mind--the English version in our
collection here is entitled "Tycoon: A New Russian." Some of the works of
Evgenii Grishkovetz, e.g. "Rubashka" and stories in a collection whose title
escapes me, shed light on the mentality of Russian businesspeople in their
30s or so. Though I haven't seen it, I'm pretty sure the recent hit TV
series "Ne rodis' krasivoi" takes place in a contemporary business setting
(and there are others).

Best wishes,
Mark Trotter
Assistant Director/Outreach Coordinator
Indiana University
martrott at indiana.edu


________________________________________
From: SEELANGS: Slavic & East European Languages and Literatures list
[SEELANGS at BAMA.UA.EDU] On Behalf Of Laura Kline [klinela at COMCAST.NET]
Sent: Sunday, November 18, 2007 10:51 PM
To: SEELANGS at BAMA.UA.EDU
Subject: [SEELANGS] Literary texts and movies on Russian business culture

Dear All,
Can anyone recommend any literary texts or movies which would shed light on
contemporary Russian business culture - preferably in English?
Thank you in advance!
Laura Kline
Lecturer in Russian
Wayne State University

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