ЮКОС

The Editors and Board of Trustees of the Russian Review

Russian Neoliberal: The Entrepreneurial Ethic and the Spirit of "True Careerism" Author(s): Alexei Yurchak

Source: Russian Review, Vol. 62, No. 1 (Jan., 2003), pp. 72-90

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RussianNeoliberal:TheEntrepreneurial

EthicandtheSpiritof"TrueCareerism"

ALEXEIYURCHAK

"There'snotimefortrivialitieswhenyou'reforgingyourcareer" IrinaBuilova(2000)

CAPITALISM,AFTERSOCIALISM

One ofthemostimportantresultsofthefirstpost-SovietdecadeinRussiaistheworldof

affluentbusinessmen,successfulcosmopolitanentrepreneurs,andtheproverbialNew Russians.Untilrecentlythisworldwasunimaginableandtothisdayis hiddenfromthe viewofmostpeoplein Russia. It is inhabitedbyremarkablecharacters-biznezmeny

(businessmen),bankiry(bankers),brokery(brokers),dilery(traders),ekaunt-menedzhery (accountmanagers),kopiraitery(copy-writers)They.areresidentsofMoscowanda few otherlargecities,familiartothemajorityonlyfromthepagesofnewmasspublications andfromfleetingencountersonurbanstreetscharacterizedbyoneMoscowsociologist: "Weoftenseehisshiningautomobileracingthroughthecityathighspeed.Sometimeshis slightlyplumpfigureinanexpensivecashmerecoatis glimpsedas hepassesfromhiscar toa restaurantorbankorthroughthemysteriouslyglitteringdoorsofa luxuriousoffice."'

MostactiveandsuccessfulparticipantsintheworldofRussia'sprivatebusinesscon-

stitutea groupdefinedquitepreciselyalonggenerationalandgenderlines. A magazine thatcaterstoaspiringyoungentrepreneurssummarizesthisworldas follows:"Literally

withinafewyearsa newgenerationofbusinessmen-young,energetic,tough-wasformed beforeoureyes. Theyareas a ruleunderforty."2Endlesslistsof"bestbankers,""best

brokers,"and"bestmanagers,"compiledbypublicationsforandaboutbusinessmen,describethemas predominantlymenin theirthirties-accordingto one list,in 1999,the

averageageofthecountry'sfortytopmanagersofprivatecompanieswas35.5,andthirtysixofthemweremen.3Indeed,accordingtosociologicalstudies,inthesecondhalfofthe

I wishtoexpressgratitudetoDonaldMoore,SergueiOushakine,MargaretPaxson,andMariaSalazkinaforstimulat- ingdiscussionsthatinspiredmeduringtheworkonthisessay.

'OlgaKryshtanovskayaquotedinCarolineHumphrey,"TheVillasofthe'NewRussians':ASketchofConsump- tionandCulturalIdentityinPost-SovietLandscapes,"Focaal 30/31(1997):85.

2Kar'era,2000,no2:1. 3Kar'era,1999,no.12:1.

TheRussianReview62 (January2003):72-90

Copyright2003TheRussianReview

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EntrepreneurialEthicandtheSpiritof"TrueCareerism" 73

1990stheaverageageofRussianprivateentrepreneurswasthirty-six;4and82 percentof theleadingmanagersofsmallandmediumbusinessesweremen.'

As thesefiguresindicate,mostbusinesspeopleinRussiabelongtoonecohort(born betweenthemid-1950sandtheearly1970s)thatis thelastSovietgeneration,inasmuch as theyarethelastgroupofSovietswhocameofage,becameeducated,andstartedtheir

adultlivesunderstatesocialismbeforeperestroikabeganinthemid-1980s.6Duringthe firsttwentytothirtyyearsoftheirlivestheywereexposedtotheideologicaldiscoursesof statesocialism,withitsannouncedgoaltobringthemup as "youngbuildersofcommunism."Inthefollowingdecade,manyofthesepeopleturnedtocareersinprivatebusiness, wheretheyconfrontedthenewlydominantdiscourseoflatecapitalism.Thegoalofthis discoursehasbeentoshapethenewRussianintoa neoliberal"homoeconomicus."

ThisessayexamineshowthenewdiscoursedescribestheidealpersonaoftheRussianbusinessworld,whattechniquesoftransformationthismodelanddiscourseofferits

audiences,andhowthesetechniques,whenputintopractice,structurerelations,concepts, andsubjectivitiesinthesphereofRussianbusiness.

ENTREPRENEUR OF ONESELF

Amongtheseaofmassmediadevotedtothebusinessworlda specialroleisplayedbythe publicationsthatexplainhowtosucceedinthatworldbyfashioningoneselfas a newkind

ofentrepreneurialsubject. Thesepublicationsdescribeindetailthelifestyle,behavior, andcharactertraitsofsuccessfulbusinessmen,andarewrittenless forthosewhohave

alreadysucceededintheworldofbusinessthanthewannabesstillplanningtodoso. The

genreofsuchpublicationsis notnew;similar"successmanuals"appearedintheUnited

Statesas earlyas the1870s,duringtherapiddevelopmentofcapitalism.7In today's Russia,purveyorsofthisdiscourseincludesuchmagazinesasKar'era(Career)andProfil' (Profile),whichcall theirreadership"truecareerists"(nastoiashchiekar'eristy).

Becominga "truecareerist,"accordingtothismodel,impliesmorethansimplylearning thetechnicalskillsof"doingbusiness."Italsomeanslearning wholesetofnormsthat

demarcateeverydaypractices,dispositions,andone'srelationshiptotheselfandtothe world.Thesenormsfunctionas disciplinaryeffectsofthenewneoliberalregimeoftruth andpowerintheRussianbusinessworld.8An individualwhowantstobecomea "true

4Argumentyifakty44 (1996):6 (resultspublishedbytheSectorfortheStudiesofElites,MoscowSociological Institute).

5GoskomstatRossii,ZhenshchinymuzhchinyRossii:Kratkiistatisticheskiisbornik(Moscow,1997),67.

6Theanalysisofchangingculturaldynamicsamonggenerations-"cohortanalysis"-hasoccupieda prominent positioninanthropology,especiallyduringthepasttwodecades.Byfocusingonthetemporaldimension,thisapproachfitswellwithcurrentanthropologicalviewsofcultureasdynamic,contested,andnonhomogenousAs. many

recentanthropologicalstudieshaveargued,"comingofageatparticularmomentscreatestellingfaultlinesthrough whichmeaningistransformedSee." LisaRofel,OtherModernities:GenderedYearningsinChinaafterSocialism

(Berkeley,1999),22.

7JudyHilkey,Characteras Capital:SuccessManualsandManhoodin GildedAgeAmerica(ChapelHill, 1977),1.

8MichelFoucault,"TruthandPower,"inMichelFoucault:Power/Knowledge:SelectedInterviewsandOther Writings,1972-1977,ed.ColinGordon(Brighton,England,1991).

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EntrepreneurialEthicandtheSpiritof"TrueCareerism" 75

careerist"must,firstandforemost,be an "entrepreneurofhimselforherself'whoorganizesdifferentaspectsofhisorherlifeas the"continuousbusinessofliving"andwho

constantlymakes"adequateprovisionforthepreservation,reproductionandreconstruc- tionof[hisorher]ownhumancapital."' Theascendancyofthisneoliberalmodelofthe subject-a subjectPierreBourdieulabeled"thewinner,schooledinhighermathematics...

bungeejumping... [and]moral a broadshiftinthelogicofevery- Darwinism"'0-marks

dayexistencetoward"themanagerializationofpersonalidentityandpersonalrelations"

and"thecapitalizationofthemeaningof IntheWest,thisneoliberalsubjectemerged life.""''

gradually,as a resultofa long,slow,andcontestedevolutionofmarketpractices.Inpost- SovietRussia,intheabsenceofsuchlong-standingpractices,thediscourseplaysa par-

ticularlysignificantroleintheproductionofthissubject.12

To analyzehowdiscoursedisciplinesnewsubjectsvis-a-visnewnormsandrulesI posewhatFoucaultcallshow,as opposedtowhat,questions.13Insteadofexamining,for example,whatformsofbusinessorstylesofconsumptionareparticulartotheRussian businessworld,I examinehowthediscourseofnewbusinessmediadelineatesthenorms

ofeverydaypractices,dispositions,relations,anddesiresinthisworld.Toconsiderwhether thisdiscoursehas beenat all successfulin introducingnewnorms,andwhatformsof behaviorhaveresulted,I drawoninterviewswithentrepreneursandemployeesofprivate companies,as well as materialsbasedon participantobservation,bothofwhichI conductedduringmyresearchon businesspracticesin Russia.'4 I also drawon published interviewswithentrepreneurs,theircolleagues,andtheirspousesandanalyzetheseinterviews,commentaries,andethnographicdescriptionsas elementsofwhatFoucaultcallsa

9ColinGordon,"GovernmentalRationality:AnIntroduction,"inTheFoucaultEffect:StudiesinGovernmentality withTwoLecturesbyandanInterviewwithMichelFoucault,ed.GrahamBurchell,ColinGordon,andPeterMiller

(Chicago,1991),42,44-45.

'0PierreBourdieu,"The Essenceofneoliberalism,"Le Mondediplomatique(December1998) (see http://

www.en.monde-diplomatique.fr/1998/12/08bourdieu).

"Gordon,"GovernmentalRationality,"44. See alsoNikolasRose,"GoverningEnterprisingIndividuals,"inhis InventingOurSelves:Psychology,Power,andPersonhood(Cambridge,England,1998),153;andMichelFou-

cault,"TechnologiesoftheSelf,"inTechnologiesoftheSelf,ed.L. H. Martinetal.(London,1988).

'2KatherineVerderymakesa similarpointdiscussingtheprominenceofdiscourseoverpracticeduringthe postrevolutionaryperiod:theBolshevikgovernmenthadlittletimeforitsprojectofrevolutionizingconsciousnessand

treatedlanguageasthe"ultimatemeansofproduction"oftheCommunistworldandsubject("TheorizingSocialism: A Prologuetothe'Transition,"'AmericanEthnologist18,no.3 (1991):430).

'3Foucaultdescribeshismethodinthestudyofthe"genealogyofmorality"as follows:"Inordertogeta better understandingofwhatispunishedandwhy,I wantedtoaskthequestion:howdoesonepunish?Thiswasthesame

procedureasI hadusedwhendealingwithmadness;ratherthanaskingwhat,ina givenperiod,isregardedassanityor insanity,asmentalillnessornormalbehavior,I wantedtoaskhowthesedivisionsareoperatedIt's. a methodwhich

seemstometoyield,I wouldn'tsaythemaximumofpossibleillumination,butatleasta fairlyfruitfulkindof

intelligibility"("QuestionsofMethod,"inTheFoucaultEffect,74).

'4As partofmyresearchproject,in1994-95,I joineda privateadvertisingagencyinSt.Petersburgas a copywriterThis.workputmeincontactwitha largenumberofbusinessesandentrepreneursinthecity.I conductedsemi- structuredinterviewswithtwenty-sixentrepreneurs,someofwhomI interviewedrepeatedlyoverthecourseofsix years,from1994to1999.I alsoconductedparticipant-observationresearchinseveralsmallbusinessesSee.Alexei Yurchak,"EntrepreneurialGovernmentalityinPost-SocialistRussia:ACulturalInvestigationofBusinessPractices," inTheNewEntrepreneursofEuropeandAsia,ed.VictoriaBonnellandThomasGold(Armonk,NY,2002).

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76 AlexeiYurchak

"discursiveformation"throughwhichnewnormsareformulated,recited,actedout,and learned.15

PERFORMATIVITYOF DISCOURSE

"Discursiveformations(orideologicalformationsthatoperatethroughdiscursiveregularities),"explainsStuartHall,

"formulate"theirownobjectsofknowledgeandtheirownsubjects;theyhave theirownrepertoireofconcepts,aredrivenbytheirownlogics,operatetheir ownenunciativemodality,andconstitutetheirownwayofacknowledgingwhat istrueandexcludingwhatisfalsewithintheirownregimeoftruthThey. establishthroughtheirregularities"spaceofformation"inwhichcertainstatements canbe enunciated;one constellationconstantlyinterrupts,displaces,andrear- rangesanotherThis.is atonewithFoucault'sproject:toexplainhowitis that "oneparticularstatementappearedratherthananother."'6

Drawingon JohnAustin'stheoryofperformativityoflanguageas elaboratedforsocial analysisintheworkofPierreBoudieuandJudithButler,wemayspeakoftheperformativity

ofdiscourseintheRussianbusinessworldintwodistinct Inthefirst,performativity senses.I7

originatesinthepowerofprivatelyownedmassmediato

"discursiveformation"as dominant,unavoidable,and"natural,"todefinewhatwillbe

"speakable"and"unspeakable"withinthisdiscursiveformation,and,hence,tocreatethe conditionswithinwhichthesubjectofthenewbusinessworld,"thetruecareerist,"can

emergeas a normativetype.'"FollowingBourdieu,onemaycallthisperformativepower ofmassmediadiscourse"delegated"bythepowerfulactorsandinstitutionsofthebusinessworldthatownmassmedia,andwho,throughthisimpositionofpower,striveto establishthemselvesas thenewdominantclassthatauthorsandcontrolsthenewversion

ofthesocialworld. Performativepowerin thesecondsenseis investedin individual

performativeactsofidentity,includingtheactsofbreakingtheoldnormsandimposing newnormativeselves.19Accordingtobusinessmediadiscourse,theactsmustbepracticed

dailybythoseaspiringtoreinventthemselvesas "truecareerists."

In treatingperformativityof discoursein thefirstsense,I outlineshiftsin the postsocialistdiscursiveregimeperformedbythenewlydominantdiscourseofbusiness

'IMichel Foucault,TheArcheologyofKnowledge(London,1974);HubertL. DreyfusandPaulRabinow,Michel

Foucault:BeyondStructuralismandHermeneutics,2ded.(Chicago,1983),44-78; StuartHall,"TheToadinthe

Garden:ThatcherismamongtheTheorists,"inMarxismandtheInterpretationofCulture,ed.C. NelsonandL.

Grossberg(Champaign,1988),51-52.

'6Hall,"TheToadintheGarden,"51.

'7JohnAustin,HowToDo ThingsWithWords(Cambridge,MA,1975);PierreBourdieu,LanguageandSymbolic

Power,ed.JohnB.Thompson,transGino.RaymondandMatthewAdamson(Cambridge,MA,1991);JudithButler,

ExcitableSpeech:APoliticsofthePerformative(NewYork,1997);idem,BodiesThatMatter:OntheDiscursive

LimitsofSex(NewYork,1993).

'8Butler,ExcitableSpeech,142.

19Ibid.

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EntrepreneurialEthicandtheSpiritof"TrueCareerism" 77

massmedia. I thenanalyzeperformativityin thesecondsense-identifyingindividual performativeactsof"thetruecareerist,"howonepracticesthem,andwhatmodelsofthe selfandsocietytheyhelptoshape.

FLEXIBLEADVERTISINGANDINVERSIONSOF THE DISCURSIVEREGIME

Theradicaltransformationsofthediscursiveregimeinpost-SovietRussiahaveoccurred

on all levelsofits"enunciativemodalities,"fromlinguisticstructure,tonarrativeorganization,totheboundariesbetween"speakable"and "unspeakable"ideas.20Thesetransformationsareespeciallyclearinthedomainofconsumeradvertising,wherea newtypeof advertisingdiscourseaddresseseverymemberoftheaudiencepersonally,speakingtoeveryoneonhis/herowntermsandreadilyshiftingtofiteachpersonalviewandpreference. ThisdiscourseofwhatI call"flexibleadvertising"developedearlierintheWest,approxi-

1980s.2' Itsdefiningfeatureis thetransmissionofa messagethatis sufficientlyconcretefora concreteindividualtoidentifywithit,andyetsufficientlyab- stracttoadapttoanyone'spersonalpositionandpolitics.Thestructureofanutterancein thistypeofadvertisingallowsforittobe investedwithdifferentmeaningbydifferent people. Themostfamousprototypeofthisdiscourseis Nike'sslogan,"Justdo it." Ac- cordingtocopy-writersoftheadagencyWeidenandKennedy,whoinventedthesloganin 1988,itsstrengthis itscapacitytomeandifferentthingspersonallytodifferentpeople.22 NowadaysNikesloganspushthispersonalizationandflexibilitytothelimit,as evidentin theirrecentexhortation,"Justdo whatever."23Similarly,theCalvinKleinadvertising slogan"JustBe" developstheideathatonedoesnothavetofitintoanypreexistingnorm; theonlynormtobe obeyedis thatofsimplybeing. Thisdiscourse,whichincreasingly

inhabitedwith"active"characterswhoaddresseachofusbyusingpersonalizedandactive visualandlinguisticforms.Theyarenotsimplyobjectsofourgaze,butattempttomake

20DreyfusandRabinow,MichelFoucault,67-69. Onalltheselevelsthediscourseofprivatebusiness,advertising, andmassmediahasshiftedinthedirectionof"linguisticcommodificationSee."my"PrivatizeYourName:Symbolic

Workina Post-SovietLinguisticMarket,"JournalofSociolinguistics4,no.3 (2000); andmy"TheGrammarof Consumption"(paperpresentedattheAnnualMeetingofAmericanAnthropologicalAssociation,SanFrancisco,

2000).

21Fora discussionoftheshiftto"flexible"advertisingseemy"Po sledamzhenskogoobraza:Simvolicheskaia rabotanovogoreklamnogodiskursa,"inZhenshchinavizual'nyeznaki,ed.AnnaAl'chuk(Moscow,2000).

22"Nike,Inc.,AnnualMeetingofShareholders"(23September1998):3.

23Seehttp://www.nikebiz.com/media/n_whatever.shtml 24SeethisadinOM(December1999).

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intransitives,vocatives,and,in theRussiancase,thepronountyandreflexives.27The resultis a messagethatcalls on everyonepersonallyto be engagedin a self-centered activity-adispositionthatisequatedwithtakingone'slifeinone'sownhands,achieving

personalsuccess,anddiscoveringthemeaningoflife. Onlyas a secondarystepis this activelyself-centereddispositionconnectedwithanadvertisedcommodity.

Inthepost-Sovietcontextthediscourseofflexibleadvertisinghasanadditionalnu- ance. As a newlydominantandubiquitouspublicdiscourse,itactsinoppositiontothe previouslydominantandequallyubiquitousdiscourseofSovietideology.Sovietdiscourse describeda collectivecondition:Nashatsel'- kommunizm("Ourgoalis communism"), Resheniia25 s"ezdapartiiodobriaem("Weendorsethedecisionsofthe25thPartyCon-

gress"),Slava Sovetskomunarodu("GlorytotheSovietpeople"). Thenewdiscourseof flexibleadvertising,contrast,describesself-centeredaction:

Otorvis' druz'iami("Blastoffwithyourfriends,"Fanta); Rasslab'sia("Relax,"Ochakovbeer); Nasladis'Ispaniei("TakepleasureinSpain,"ITLV olives);

Noch'tvoia,dobav'ognia("Thenightis yours,addsomefire/light,"Pall Mall

cigarettes);

Tymozhesh'sebeetopozvolit'("Youcanallowyourselfthis,"Nevskoebeer); Oshchutipiat'iuorganamichuvstv("Feel itwithfivesenses,"Piaterkamineral

water);

Ne dai sebezasokhnut'("Don'tletyourselfdryout,"Sprite).

Theseexamplesmarknotonlya relativesemantictransformationofthediscursive

regime,buta completeinversionofitsutopianenunciativemodality,fromcommunistto neoliberal.Thesamediscursiveinversionalso occurredattheleveloflexicon.Forex-

ample,thewordbol'shevikchangedinmostmassmediadiscoursesfroma sacredtermto

a slur.Similarly,thetermkar'erist(careerist)-anindividualwhosecentralgoalinlifeis a successfulpersonalcareer-inthepagesofKar'eraacquiresa positivemeaning,whereas inSoviettimesitswaspurelynegative.Thisdiscursiveinversionredefinesthenormative

boundariesofthe"real"andthe"meaningful"inthenewbusinessworld:itopposesthe old,collective,materialist"socialistadministration"(sotsialisticheskoeupravlenie)and

thenew,personalized,idealist"trueentrepreneurship"(istinoepredprinimatel'stvo):

'We maythinkofthissymbolicpowerofthegazeintermsofJacquesLacan'stheoryofthe"gaze"andits"trace" ("TheGazeas ObjectPetita," inTheFourFundamentalConceptsofPsycho-Analysis[NewYork,1998]),74-75).

Fora discussionofthistopicseemy"Posledamzhenskogoobraza." 26LouisAlthusser,"IdeologyandIdeologicalStateApparatuses(NotestowardanInvestigation),"inLeninand

PhilosophyandOtherEssays(NewYork,1988). 27Yurchak,"TheGrammarofConsumption."

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EntrepreneurialEthicandtheSpiritof"TrueCareerism" 79

In RussianbusinesstherearetwocategoriesofentrepreneursThe. firstadministerspropertythatheinheritedfromthestate.Thesecondcreatesa newbusinessor a radicallynewimage/brand(imidzh/brend)foran existingbusiness. The latteris entrepreneurshipin thetruesenseof theword. For example, Khodorkovskiifoundedhis Rosprom-UKOS. Kakha Bendukidzecreated

Uralmashzavody,whichhasanentirelydifferentimagefromtheonethatexisted earlierandwasknowntoeveryoneas Uralmash.28

Super-idea(sverkhideia),"explainsAleksandrKhloponin, generalmanagerofNorilskNickel. "Inthissenseheis moreofanidealistthana materi-

alist... tocreate,toproducesomethingoutofnothing-thesearethegoalsfora person whois aimingforsuccessinlife."29

Thenormativemodelofthetruecareerist demarcatednotonlybylinguistic,tem-

poral,and generationalboundaries,butalso bygender.Thispersonis a man;in this discursiveregimewomenplaytheroleofsubordinatesbecausetheylacktherequisitelevel

offlexibility,speed,andself-centerednessintheirrelationshipstotheselfandtotheworld. Kar'eraexplains:

Discussionsandnegotiationsinourbusinessworldareoftenhandledinan in-

crediblyroughand toughway-not in ballroomdressesandreceptionhalls. Hereoneneedstheiron-cladcharacter,willpower,andtheindestructibilityofa warriorVery. fewwomencanhandlesomethinglikethat.30

Thejob ofauditoris "wellpaid,""notrisk-related,"and"idealforwomenwho arenotirritatedbytediouscalculationsandheapsofpaperwork."31

Traders(dilery)areamongtheeliteandbest-paidbankingexperts.Theyare valuedbecausetheybringthemajorprofitstobanks.Thisprofessionis forreal men.Womenworkonlyondeposits,maintainingthebank'sinternalresources. Thatworkis calmeranddoesnotrequirequickdecisions;instead,itdemands diligence,meticulousness,precision,andattentionWomen.inthetradingroom havetocovertheirears. Traderstalkamongthemselvesina professionaljar- gon-a mixtureofEnglishandobscenities.Strongexpressionshelptorelease emotionalstress.So doeshardliquor.Whiskeyis thetraders'favoritedrink.32

TheinversionofthediscursivemodalityfromSoviettopost-Sovietisnotonlycom- plete,butoftenconsciousandquitecynical,as evidencedinthetitlesofsundryarticles

publishedinKar'era. Theprecedingpassage,forexample,ispartofanarticlediscussing businesssalariesandis titled"Myza tsenoine postoim"("We'll payanyprice"). This ironictitlereliesonreaders'recognitionofthereferencetoa sharednationalexperience, echoingthenameofa movingsongfroman immenselypopularSovietfilm,Belorusskii

28DmitriiSimakovetal.,"Kapital'noestroitel'stvo,"Kar'era,2000,no.2. 29IngeboraAdomaite,"Kar'era- etotsenacheloveka,"Kar'era,1998,no.8.

3Ibid. 3101'gaKazanskaia,"Ekonomicheskoechudo,"Kar'era,1998,no.3. 32MargaritaOzerova,"Myza tsenoinepostoim,"Kar'era,2000,no.2.

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80 AlexeiYurchak

vokzal,fromthe1970saboutWorldWarII veteranswhorememberthosecomradeswho hadperishedatthefront.

PERFORMING SUCCESS

Theprocessofreinventingoneselftofitthenormsofthetruecareeristnecessitatesendless

performativerituals-frombodilyacts(appearance,clothes,gestures,movements,wayof

walking,manners,voice,styleofdrinking),tospeechacts(typesofutterances,genresof speech,use ofEnglishandobscenities),toritualisticactsofmanipulating,reorganizing, andreshapingone'sself-centeredperspectives,emotions,feelings,thetimeandspaceof one's daily existence,and so forth. By constantlyrecitingand re-enactingthese performativiveactsthetruecareeristcultivateshimselfdailyandhourlyin accordance withthenewnormsoftheneoliberalmodel.

Amongthemostobvioussuchactsis theprojectionofthevisibleappearanceofsuc-

cessontoone'sbodilystyle:"Careeristsaren'taccustomedtosavingmoneyonties,watches,

andcars. Becauseeverythingthatis visibleshouldworkon yoursuccess";"careerists shouldsmelloffreshnessandhealthyambitions";"thecareerist a conceptthatdoesn't

dependon theweather.A brand-newsuit,shiningshoes,anda friendlysmilemustbe wornregardlessofthemeteorologicalconditions."33

Morecomplexdiscursiveactsentailwhatonemaycalltheprofessionalizationthe personalsphereandthepersonalizationofthebusinesssphere.Some actsrelentlessly obliterateanyremnantsoftime,space,andenergyforwhatwasonceknownas "personal life"(lichnaiazhizn'):"Thecareeristhasnotimeforlove. It'sa wasteoftime...There's

no timefortrivialitieswhenyou'reforgingyourcareer."34Otheractsdomesticatethe sphereofbusiness,creatingtheimpressionthatoneisworkingnotforthecompanybutfor oneselfand,therefore,engagednotinworkbutinlife. One's thoughts,relations,interests,emotions,love,sex,time,space,andso onareallrecastas notionsthatmakesense

onlywithinthisself-centered,flexibleandmasculinizedmodelofbusiness-living:"Witha

girlfriend(s liubimoi),youneverknowhowitwillworkoutintheend. Conversely,your workwillalwaysrewardyoufortryinghard.Youworklikea dog,yougetpaid,youget

promoted,youenjoyit. Andthisenjoymentdependsonlyonyou."35

A managerofa privatebusinessdescribeshowthisshiftis projectedontoeveryday actsandritualsofliving:

TheotherdayI realizedthatit'sbeenhalfa yearnowthatI haven'thada roman-

ticrelationshipAnd,. youknowwhat,I didn'teventhinkaboutit! Tobehonest, I havenotimeforgirls.Youdragyourselfhomearound10PM,havea bite,and

33SeeSergeiUshakin,"Vidimost'muzhestvennosti,"Russkiizhurnal(15 December1997);DenisMorozov, "Trusardi,"Kar'era,2000,no.2; idem,"Utomlennyesolntsem,"Kar'era,2000,no.6; andidem,"Sukhoizakon," Kar'era,2000,no.5.

34lrinaBuilova,"S chuvstvomglubokogoneudovletvoreniia,"Kar'era,2000,no.1. 35Ibid.

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