The Marshrutka - An Overlooked Public Good?

Author(s): Nicholas Wondra
Editor(s): Stephen Aris, Matthias Neumann, Robert Orttung, Jeronim Perovic, Heiko Pleines, Hans-Henning Schröder
Series: Russian Analytical Digest (RAD)
Issue: 89
Pages: 5-9
Publisher(s): Center for Security Studies (CSS), ETH Zurich; Research Centre for East European Studies, University of Bremen; Institute of History, University of Basel
Publication Year: 2010

In the former Soviet Union, one of the most persistent fixtures of life is the marshrutka. Even in the smallest towns where there are no other public institutions, the marshrutka fulfills important economic roles. The importance of the marshrutka has only increased with the collapse of Soviet institutions and transport infrastructure. The marshrutka deserves serious academic attention because it is one of the few institutions which survived the collapse of the Soviet Union. As a mode of transportation, goods conveyance, postal service, news carrier, and provider of other indirect services, the marshrutka has been overlooked and undervalued by academics and students of development. Marshrutki serve in important roles for which there are often no, or poor, substitutes. Additionally, they provide numerous positive externalities. Future research should identify new methodologies to study this difficult-to-measure, wide-ranging fixture of post-Soviet life.

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