“Brift” An Inquiry into the Worlds of Exchange Practices of Russians

• In Event: 3184 - Section on Sociology of Culture Refereed Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 100min: Table 07. Culture, Economy, and Organizations

Abstract

Brift is type of a directional gift that Russians use for thanking people outside the immediate circle of close family and intimate friends, has some distinctive characteristics. By being partially voluntary and partially obligatory, it constitutes a completely different type of payment, compared to a gift. Brift represents a unique concept in which social capital is closely intertwined with materiality, a concept in which the market norm blends in with the social norm. Brift, as a self-sustaining construct, embodies features typical of bribery, gift-exchange and blat, the usage of personal networks for achieving goals. Thus, serving as a link for all of them. I would argue that this type of payment should be separated from bribes, blat and presents, and should be placed into its own category of “brift”. By understanding the concept of brift, we would allow ourselves to better understand one of the major modes of exchange, which would further lead to better understanding of bribery and corruption in general. The following paper aims to validate the concept of a brift in Russian context. In this paper I describe the main characteristics of a brift, its difference from a typical gift, as well as its applicability to transactions of social exchange and its importance. Drawing on 12 in-depth interviews that were conducted during the summer of 2017 in St. Petersburg, Russia, I would locate brift in the context of Russian reality, which would help to further analyze its intricate nature.

Author

• Liudmila Listrovaya, University of Oregon