Devenir entrepreneur au début des années 1990: entre créativité et profit, deux trajectoires de construction d’un « bizness »

The economic program of the transition had a hard time owing to the perturbations that strongly affected the Russian economy during the period from 1990 to 2000. This fieldwork seeks mainly to raise questions about the resources that small entrepreneurs mobilized to preserve their businesses at the junction of two systems and in the upheaval of economic reforms. The biographical accounts herein propose an alternative to the traditional view of entrepreneurial activities with its emphasis on the informal sector, violence, criminal practices and the role of networks. The careers of these small businessmen draw attention to the importance of professionalization and specialization as a bulwark for coping with increasing competition. Interpersonal relations are mentioned but occasionally as a backing for activities shaped by demand and market relations.