The depths of Russia : oil, power, and culture after socialism

393 Pages·2015·14.704 MB·English

by  Douglas Rogers

THE DEPTHS OF RUSS IA

THE DEPTHS
OF RUSSIA
Oil, Power, and Culture after Socialism
Douglas Rogers
CORNELL UNIVERSITY PRESS ITHACA AND LONDON
This book was published with the assistance of the Frederick W. Hilles Publication
Fund of Yale University and a Director’s Award from the Whitney and Beth
MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies, Yale University.
Copyright © 2015 by Cornell University
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or parts
thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from
the publisher. For information, address Cornell University Press, Sage House,
512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850.
First published 2015 by Cornell University Press
First printing, Cornell Paperbacks, 2015
Printed in the United States of Ame rica
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Rogers, Douglas, 1972– author.
The depths of Rus sia : oil, power, and culture after socialism / Douglas Rogers.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8014-5373-1 (cloth : alk. paper) —
ISBN 978-0-8014-5658-9 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Petroleum industry and trade— Social aspects— Russia (Federation)—
Permskii krai. 2. Post- communism— Social aspects— Russia (Federation)—
Permskii krai. 3. Social responsibility of business— Russia (Federation)—
Permskii krai. 4. Lukoil (Firm)— History. 5. Permskii krai (Russia)— Social
conditions. 6. Ethnology— Russia (Federation)— Permskii krai. I. Title.
HD9575.R83P477 2015
338.7'6655094747— dc23
2015009575
Cornell University Press strives to use environmentally responsible suppliers and
materials to the fullest extent possi ble in the publishing of its books. Such materials
include vegetable- based, low- VOC inks and acid- free papers that are recycled,
totally chlorine- free, or partly composed of nonwood fibers. For further
information, visit our website at www . cornellpress . cornell . edu.
Cloth printing 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Paperback printing 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Cover: “Pipeline.” Illustration by Il’ia Viktorov for the TV series The Spine of
Russia, conceived by Aleksei Ivanov, directed by Leonid Parfenov, and produced by
Iulia Zaitseva. Studio “Namednyi,” 2009. Image courtesy of Aleksei Ivanov, Iulia
Zaitseva, and Il’ia Viktorov.
For Melanie

Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Preface xi
Ac know ledg ments xv
Note on Place, Corporate, and Personal Names,
Translations, and Transliterations xix
Introduction: Oil, States and Corporations,
and the Politics of Culture 1
Part I FROM SOCIALIST TO POSTSOCIALIST OIL
1. The Socialist Oil Complex: Scarcity and Hierarchies
of Prestige in the Second Baku 33
2. Circulation before Privatization: Petrobarter
and New Corporate Forms 71
3. The Lukoilization of Production: Space, Capital,
and Surrogate Currencies 102
Part II THE BOOM YEARS
4. State/Corporation: The Social and Cultural
Pro ject Movement 143
5. Corporation/State: Lukoil as General Partner
of the Perm Region 175
Part III THE CULTURAL FRONT
6. Oil and Culture: The Depths of Postsocialism 211
7. Alternative Energies: Lukoil- Perm in Corporate
and Cultural Fields 253
8. “Bilbao on the Kama”? The Perm Cultural Pro ject
and Its Critics 286
viii Contents
Appendix: Governors of the Perm Region
in the Post- Soviet Period 333
Glossary 335
References 339
Index 361
Illustrations
Maps
1. The Perm region of the Rus sian Federation 20
2. The geography of oil deposits and Lukoil- Perm CSR projects, 2005 188
3. Natu ral gas trunk pipelines passing through the Perm region 256
Figures
1. Power, by Nikolai Ridnyi, a public art installation outside the Perm
Regional Administration Building 3
2. Das Kapital, by Andrei Molodkin 7
3. Old and new oil industry murals in the oil town Polazna 62
4. A Lukoil gas station in Perm 178
5. The Culture Taxi Comp any 214
6. “Lukoil- Perm: Protecting Traditions,” A billboard in Perm 218
7. Exhibit at the Kungur Regional Studies Museum 228
8. The floor of Perm’s Folk Arts Show and Sale, 2011 249
9. The Uinsk district’s booth at the 2011 Folk Arts Show and Sale 250
10. Sketches of Perm Animal Style archaeological artifacts 276
11. Perm Animal Style images adorn the front of Perm’s Central Store 278
12. “The New Faces of Perm Animal Style” at the White Nights
in Perm Festival 284
13. Festival Village Tower, White Nights in Perm Festival 311
14. “Pipeline,” by Il′ia Viktorov, from The Spine of Rus sia
tele vi sion series 328
ix