Gender and Choice after Socialism by Lynne Attwood Elisabeth Schimpfössl & Marina Yusupova

Author:Lynne Attwood, Elisabeth Schimpfössl & Marina Yusupova
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Springer International Publishing, Cham

Male interviewees expressed their patriotic sentiments most strongly through their choice of leisure activities: hunting in remote Siberian territories, instead of going on yet another Safari in Africa, and drinking vodka rather than joining in the new trends of drinking either mineral water or whisky. At the same time, they were very critical of those fellow wealthy Russians who indulge too much in Western pastimes.

Many condescendingly looked down at Western values, in particular what they saw as hypocritical political correctness and hollow Western propriety. Traditionally in Russia, men are considered to be brutish at the core of their nature, and, as they are bound to succumb to this from time to time, they cannot really be held responsible for occasional outbursts of virility.8 Linked to this openness towards manly brutishness is great respect for force-driven Alpha-type men who press forward with vigour and determination to crush any obstacles blocking their way.

This type of manliness is closely associated with ‘warrior’ men, as Yusupova calls the military prototype in her chapter on masculiniy and militarism. Military service was nevertheless barely touched upon in my interviews—unsurprisingly. There are a good number of countries around the world, most famously the USA, where intense patriotism and an aggressive foreign policy do not mean that the children of the elite risking their lives in military campaigns. As Yusupova further describes in her chapter, from the middle class upwards, many young Russians avoid conscription either through prolonged studies or through bribery. Most of the rich Russians of today would have had to serve in Soviet times, but even back then privileged educational paths helped them either land privileged positions in the army or circumvent military service altogether. Those among my interviewees who had gone through ordinary military service, sometimes used this to emphasise their humble social background.

More prevalent among rich Russians were former KGB officers. In contrast to bullying, impulsive Alpha males, former secret service officers have a reputation for being highly self-controlled. Deploring the temporary demise of this type of man and the parallel rise of the thoughtless, hedonistic rich , one interviewee told me a story he witnessed in person. The episode occurred in the early 2000s. The top management of a giant company dealing in natural resources visited some of their production sites in Siberia. Already for some time there had been bitter feuds between two powerful men in the top management. As usual, during their business trips to Siberia, they stayed at the best hotel in town. As per the informal rule when hotel guests travel in male-only groups, the hotel staff pre-booked prostitutes to entertain the men throughout their stay, including in the hotel sauna. The first group went to the sauna on day one. Switching their attention back and forth from the girls to talking shop, they became unguarded and animated while chatting among themselves, oblivious to the fact that the women around them might be able to absorb the information they overheard. The next evening two men belonging to the second group, my interviewee being one of them, visited the sauna.

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