The “Russian Soul” and Russian Business—a connection?

 I was asked by the respected Russia Profile magazine to consider if there is a connection between the legendary “Russian soul” and the chaotic world of Russian business today. My answer was absolutely yes!

My resulting article, “The Piety of Soil and Spirit” is featured in the summer special edition of Russia Profile, the most respected English language magazine published in Russia and offering the most comprehensive and concise view of business, economic, political and cultural trends and processes underway in today’s Russia. See http://www.russiaprofile.org/page.php?pageid=About  and on that page in the left “Special Edition” column click on “The Piety of Soil and Spirit.”—that’s my article. There are more articles, really good ones, on this or similar subjects.

I learned soon after coming to Russia to start a business back in 1992, that business in Russia is like business anywhere else—but different. I call it “the third side of the Russian coin.”  In the RP article I write that “Soul” is important to a Russian. It explains the unexplainable. It is that conscious or unconscious essence that makes a people identify who they are. For the Russian, it is the “sense” of being Russian, a deep piety of soil and spirit.

There is too much to say on this topic for a short post, but if you go to the Russia Profile website you will see all the articles on “the Russian Soul” and it is very good reading.  And of course, read my book “Walking on Ice, An American Businessman in Russia” for a “from the trenches” account of my many years in that fascinating and challenging land.

Buy the book here  “Walking on Ice, An American Businessman in Russia”