New Russian
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New Russian (новый русский—novyi russkiy in Russian) is a term denoting a stereotypical caricature of the newly rich business class in post-Soviet Russia. According to the stereotype, New Russians achieved rapid wealth by using semi-criminal methods during Russia’s chaotic transition to a market economy. The term is possibly derived from French nouveau riche (newly rich).
Having a modest education and social background, New Russians are perceived as arrogant nouveau riche and gaudy, conspicuous consumers with poor taste. Money and status symbols are prominently displayed by the New Russian, in particular jewelry and luxury cars. In the early 1990s, prominent attributes of the New Russian stereotype also included mobile phones and crimson silk jackets. A wide range of elite restaurants and nightclubs catering to the New Russian social circle (тусовка) have sprung up in Moscow.
The term implies a contrast with “old Russians,” ordinary people who have not prospered economically since the end of communism in Russia.
New Russians also star in an entire generation of Russian jokes.
Related article
- Conspicuous consumption
- Russian oligarchs
- Denis Salnikov
Sources
[Crimson Tide], appearing in the British newspaper The Sunday Times.
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