This first comprehensive analysis of Russian corporations examines capitalism under the tsarist and late Soviet regimes from the perspectives of geography, economic policy, and ideology. It draws on the author's new database of all corporations chartered by the tsarist government and utilizes the obscure memoirs of domestic and foreign business leaders.

In Russian Corporate Capitalism from Peter the Great to Perestroika, Thomas C. Owen explores the impact of bureaucratic restrictions, assesses the entrepreneurial capabilities of founders from various social and ethnic groups, and presents numerous tables and graphs that for the first time describe the corporate elite of the Russian Empire and its ten largest cities.

Owen also stresses historical continuities, especially the persistence of anticapitalist attitudes, both radical and reactionary, into the 1990s. A provocative final chapter considers the implications of the weak corporate heritage for the future of Russian capitalism. This remarkable book will be of interest to the general reader interested in Russian business and history as well as to scholars of Russian economics, politics, and culture.