The art market and cultural capital in the era of globalization (based on data from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan)

This work considers the problems of the creation of the contemporary art market in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. It studies the state of museums, galleries and exhibitions of contemporary art and reviews the results of contemporary art sales in world famous auction houses such as Christie's and Sotheby's. Attention is also given to various trends in the development of the art market, from the Duchamp-style approach of "if you think it's art, then it's art" to the problem of "the popular market". My thesis applied Pierre Bourdieu's concept of cultural and symbolic capital to the post-Soviet area for the first time. The market of "symbolic goods" is beginning to play an increasing role in the era of globalization, which can be seen clearly, for example, even in the fashion world. The huge variations between prices on the global art market and the local art markets in the areas studied prompt the question – what's the secret? Keys to understanding the riddle were ideas of cultural and symbolic capital. I set out my understanding of the substance and main ideas of these researchers.