Family business in Russia: the path to middle class?

The paper seeks to explore via a series of interview-based case studies asp ects of the emergence of an entrepreneurial middle-class in Russia. The pap er notes the origins of those studied in the professional or highly skilled workers in the former Soviet Union. The paper reveals the complexity and f ragility of the circumstances of these entrepreneurs and suggests that comm entary in both Russia and the West that pins its hopes for social stability on the emergence of a new property owning middle class in Russia are, at b est, premature.