Attitude of the Political Elite of the Primorye to Privatization in 1990–92: Materials from the State Archives of the Primorsky Krai

УДК 94(571.6)

DOI 10.28995/2073-0101-2020-2-590-601

Angelina S. Vashchuk, Nikolay S. Vorontsov

Institute of History, Archeology, and Ethnography of the Peoples of the Far East, Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladivostok, Russian Federation

Attitude of the Political Elite of the Primorye to Privatization in 1990–92: Materials from the State Archives of the Primorsky Krai

Abstract

The article is devoted to analysis of heuristic capabilities of the archival documents from the fonds of the State Archive of the Primorsky Krai, which reflect the initial period of the privatization in the Primorye. It studies the formation of regulatory framework for denationalization and privatization in the light of regional specifics, as well as the opinions and expectations of the regional political elite members concerning problems and prospects of practical implementation of the first privatization programs. The research has been carried out mainly on the basis of records management materials of the Soviet of People's Deputies of the Primorsky Krai and that of the city of Vladivostok. The basis of the article is sessions minutes the Soviets of the city and regional level. The authors take into account the source’s limitations and supplement it with information extracted from other types of sources, both published and unpublished. Identified archival documents are analyzed using a synergistic approach and elements of hermeneutics. The authors also use a situational approach and elements of content analysis of the minutes’ texts. The views of the Primorye political elite on the privatization course set by the Russian government during the post-Soviet transit were influenced by various factors and events, some of which occurred in the power structures of the federal center. Most local politicians embraced the beginning privatization quite enthusiastically. They were influenced by the myth of possibly fair and equitable privatization, as well as by their own interests and ideological convictions. The analysis focuses considerable attention on the role of individual in the history of privatization in the region, exemplified by V.S. Kuznetsov, the first post-Soviet governor of the Primorye and by deputies of the local Soviets. The authors conclude that the minutes had not just information function, but provided a tool for self-organization of the local political elite in the context of political crisis.

Keywords

Archival source, political crisis, privatization, denationalization, regional political elite, Soviets of People's Deputies, Primorsky Krai.

Download the article: vashchuk_vorontsov_doi

References

BERSENEV, V. L. Protsessy razgosudarstvleniya i privatizatsii v Rossii v 90-e gg. [Processes of denationalization and privatization in Russia in the 1990s. In Russ.]. Part 1. IN: Ekonomika regiona, 2017, vol. 3, issue 2, pp. 342–354; Part 2. IN: Ekonomika regiona, 2017, vol. 3, issue 3, pp. 708–715.

DVOENOSOVA, G. A. Sinergeticheskaya teoriya dokumenta v razvitii dokumentovedcheskoi mysli [Synergetic Theory of Document in Evolution of Document Science. In Russ.]. IN: Vestnik arhivista / Herald of an Archivist, 2018, no. 4, pp. 1060-1068. doi 10.28995/2073-0101-2018-4-1060-1068.

CHUBAIS, A. B. Rossiya: trudnyi put k chastnoi sobstvennosti. Istoriya novoi Rossii. Ocherki, interv'yu: v 3 t. [Russia: The difficult way to private property. History of modern Russia. Essays, interviews in 3 vols. In Russ.]. St. Petersburg, 2011, 688 p.

About authors

Vashchuk Angelina Sergeevna, PhD in History, professor, Institute of History, Archeology, and Ethnography of the Peoples of the Far East, Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladivostok, Russian Federation, +7-914-079-75-42, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Vorontsov Nikolay Stepanovich, Institute of History, Archeology, and Ethnography of the Peoples of the Far East, Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, senior laboratory assistant, Vladivostok, Russian Federation, +7-902-553-82-82, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Submitted 27.05.2019, published (for citation):

VASHCHUK, A. S., VORONTSOV, N. S. Otnoshenie politicheskoi elity Primor'ya k privatizatsii v 1990–1992 gg. Po materialam Gosudarstvennogo arkhiva Primorskogo kraya [Attitude of the Political Elite of the Primorye to Privatization in 1990–92: Materials from the State Archives of the Primorsky Krai. In Russ.]. IN: Vestnik arhivista / Herald of an Archivist, 2020, no. 2, pp. 590-601. doi 10.28995/2073-0101-2020-2-590-601