Neoliberalism and the Putin Government: A Discourse on the Contemporary Relationship Between Russia and the West

Abstract

The overall goal of this research is to produce an original, analytical, ethnographic critique of the relationship between two technologies of government, neoliberalism and that of the Putin presidency. Emphasis will be placed on historic and cultural elements which helped to produce and sustain the Putin government; the conception of neoliberalism in the west, its dissemination through particular financial institutions and its effects; the relationship between the Putin government and western neoliberalism. My research is made up of ethnographic interviews and participant observation, this is supplemented with and analysed against background literature listed in the bibliography. The thesis explores in detail the various cultural and historical elements which produced the Putin government at the turn of the millennium and have since been harnessed by it. It further details the current situation of western neoliberalism and the transnational class it has produced, blurring the lines between business and politics. The thesis finally investigates why the fundamental characteristics of the respective technologies of governments must produce an abrasive relationship.