Russian Federation

Although undated this pack was published after Boris Yeltsin's rule (1991-1999), a period of liberal reforms and Russia's opening up towards the West, and at or near the beginning of Vladimir Putin’s first Presidential term (2000-2004).

This 36-card pack was a joint project between the newspaper Kommersant and the television programme Namedni, and each of the four suits is equated with one of the four pillars of Russian power: hearts represent the family; diamonds the liberals; spades the siloviki (a lobby gathering former security services agents), while clubs portray the St. Petersburg circle of political figures close to Putin (Piterskie). Vladimir Putin’s face is shown on all four aces, but all of the other cards show the face of a prominent politician of the period. While many of those portrayed are still in evidence in the Russia of today (indeed, several are currently subject to western sanctions), the pack also harks back to a time when liberal politicians were also included in government: for example, Boris Nemtsov (assassinated in 2015); Andrei Illarionov (who has become a critic of Putin's administration and who declared in April 2022 that "it is absolutely impossible to have any positive future for Russia with the current political regime); Mikhail Khodorkovskii (who in 2001 founded Open Russia, a reform-minded organization intending to "build and strengthen civil society" in the country. In October 2003, he was arrested by Russian authorities and charged with fraud); Anatolii Chubais (resigned over invasion of Ukraine); Alexei Kudrin (a Russian liberal who resigned from government in 2011 and from 2011 to 2022 was the Dean of the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences in St. Petersburg State University).

Above: Russian Federation pack, a joint project between the newspaper Kommersant and the television programme Namedni, c.2000. 36 cards.