Lend Me Your Ear

Elisabeth Schimpfössl is the author of “Rich Russians – from Oligarchs to Bourgeoise” – an eye-catching study of the new Russian business elite that’s emerged since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Originally from Austria, and now an academic at the UK’s Aston University, Schimpfössl enticed dozens of so-called oligarchs and minigarchs to discuss their personal stories, how they acquired wealth, their views on Western culture – and the future of East-West relations during what some now call “a New Cold War”. “Schimpfössl’s book benefits from this long parade of interviews” says Foreign Affairs magazine, “which put a human face on her analysis”. Her analysis is one of robber barons becoming gentlemen, of a rush to be seen as refined and bourgeoise, of “the man’s world” in post-Soviet Russia, but also of “powerful, unstoppable” Russian women.