Catalyst or crutch? : the role of privatized land in Russian enterprise restructuring

Abstract

The privatization of enterprise land in Russia has been viewed by many academic and multilateral experts as a key component of restructuring efforts aimed at improving the financial health and efficiency of Russian firms. Advisors who formulated and implemented the programs intended to facilitate this process predicted that landowning enterprises would shield themselves from the uncertainties associated with leasing land from the state, would be better able to attract private capital and secure bank financing, and would be able to raise extra revenue through the sale and leasing of excess land. Any secondary disposition of land, it was generally believed, could help stimulate nascent real estate markets and lead to more efficient land use patterns. My research, the centerpiece of which was field work in St. Petersburg, Russia, suggests that the consensus expectations have been only partially realized. Firms that have purchased their land feel more secure, but on the whole they have been unable to use their land to attract equity and debt. Far more successful have been efforts to raise revenue through land leasing and sales. Overall, enterprise handling of recently privatized land appears to have been oriented toward immediate survival needs.