Russia’s Arctic Natural Gas and the Definition of Sustainability

Cultural Anthropology website published a new article “Russia’s Arctic Natural Gas and the Definition of Sustainability” by Veli-Pekka Tynkkynen.

Sustainability as a corporate governance objective entered the Russian energy sector in the early 2000s. Major state-owned companies began publishing corporate social responsibility and sustainability reports. Instead of examining these documents, though, I want to understand how sustainability is defined in advertisements directed at the broader public at home and abroad. I argue that the narrative of these advertisements better reflects how both companies and viewers understand sustainability. Advertisements, as a central component in branding that can represent how corporations actually think (see Moeran 2005), are a productive site for unmasking how Russian energy, political elites, and beliefs about commerce and responsibility are brought together.

The article is available online.