Purchasing Power: Consumer Empowerment and Adaptation to the Free Market in Russia

Summary

This article explores adaptations in Russian consumer behavior to market capitalism, impediments to that process, and the effects citizens’ survival strategies may have on Russia’s continued political and social evolution. Capitalism not only brought Russians a market economy of unenforced legislation, insufficient regulatory institutions, and widespread corruption, but also new ideas including individual rights, self-reliance, and increased expectations for market transactions, which contribute to public mobilization and legal reform designed to protect and empower consumers. Despite the ambivalence many citizens feel toward the market and the difficulties associated with the struggling economy and widespread mafia influence, emerging consumer advocacy groups have begun holding businesses and the government accountable. Evidence suggests that consumer concerns are serving as a vehicle for public mobilization in areas that are broadly significant to Russia’s lingering problems. Finally, though the focus of this paper is on Russian consumers, it is believed that many of the conclusions generated could be extended to other countries with emerging markets.