Into the Red: The Birth of the Credit Card Market in Postcommunist Russia

"Alya Guseva proves herself as a serious scholar matching intellectual depth with careful detail. Analysis of market creation and institutional emergence demands the fieldwork and creativity that few like Guseva displays. Into the Red will make a significant contribution to institutional change and market creation in general, in emerging markets, and, especially, in postcommunist countries."—Gerald McDermott, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

"Alya Guseva's excellent book Into the Red represents the first full-length scholarly analysis of postcommunist credit card markets. Drawing on unique and extensive field research in Russia, Guseva convincingly demonstrates why the Russian credit card market has evolved so differently from that of the United States and other capitalist economies. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in gaining a deeper understanding of contemporary postcommunist financial systems."—Juliet Johnson, McGill University

"This timely and stimulating book sheds light on the organizational and social origins of credit, not just in Russia but around the world. Anyone with an interest in how credit economies work will want to read Into the Red."—Bruce G. Carruthers, Northwestern University

Into the Red explores the emergence of a credit card market in post-Soviet Russia during the formative period from 1988 to 2007. In her analysis, Alya Guseva locates the dynamics of market building in the social structure, specifically the creative use of social networks.

Until now, network scholars have overlooked the role that networks play in facilitating exchange in mass markets because they have exclusively focused on firm-to-firm or person-to-person ties. Into the Red demonstrates how networks that combine individuals and organizations help to build markets for mass consumption. The book is situated on the cutting edge of emerging interdisciplinary research, linking multiple layers of analysis with institutional evolution. Using an intricate framework, Guseva chronicles both the creation of a credit card market and the making of a mass consumer. These processes are placed in the context of the ongoing restructuring in postcommunist Russia and the expansion of Western markets and ideologies through the rest of the world.