For half a century the Soviet economy was inefficient but stable. In the late 1980s, to the surprise of nearly everyone, it suddenly collapsed. Why did this happen? And what role did Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev's economic reforms play in the country's dissolution? In this groundbreaking study, Chris Miller shows that Gorbachev and his allies tried to learn from the great success story of transitions from socialism to capitalism, Deng Xiaoping's China. Why, then, were efforts to revitalize Soviet socialism so much less successful than in China? Making use of never-before-studied documents from the Soviet politburo and other archives, Miller argues that the difference between the Soviet Union and China--and the ultimate cause of the Soviet collapse--was not economics but politics. The Soviet government was divided by bitter conflict, and Gorbachev, the ostensible Soviet autocrat, was unable to outmaneuver the interest groups that were threatened by his economic reforms. Miller's analysis settles long-standing debates about the politics and economics of perestroika, transforming our understanding of the causes of the Soviet Union's rapid demise.
The inside story of the political collpase of the Soviet Union is far better understood than the course of economic and social disintegration. In order to capture the story, the editors compiled a list of questions which they addressed to former top Soviet officials and economic and other policy advisors (both Soviet and foreign) who were privy not only to data on the functioning of the Soviet economy but also to the internal policy debate during the 1980s. This volume assembles the Informants' analyses of key issues and the turning points, and weaves them into a compelling history of systemic collapse. Among the topics investigated are: economic policies in the 1980s; the standard of living: the reliability of Soviet statistics; Gosplan's projections for the economy to the year 2000; was the arms race starving the civilian economy? the role of ideology in supporting the functioning of an economic system; the party's participating in economic management; the influence of foreign advisors; the struggle over a transition program; the functioning and collapse of the supply system, the CMEA, and the foreign trade system.
Excerpt from Soviet Economy in the 1980s, Vol. 2: Problems and Prospects; Selected Papers Submitted to the Joint Economic Committee, Congress of the United States To the Members of the Joint Economic Committee: I am transmitting for the use of the Joint Economic Committee, Congress, and the interested public the second part of a compilation of papers assessing the economy of the Soviet Union. This compilation, "Soviet Economy in the 1980's: Problems and Prospects, Part 2," contains papers analyzing Soviet agriculture, demographic trends, human resources, and foreign trade. As in the case of Part 1, the companion volume, we are grateful to John P. Hardt, of the Congressional Research Service, for helping to plan, coordinate, and edit this compilation. We also appreciate the services of Daniel L. Bond, Paul K. Cook, Douglas B. Diamond, Murray Feshbach, Richard F. Kaufman, David M. Schoonover, and Lawrence H. Theriot, who formed the Advisory Committee. Dr. Hardt was assisted by Donna Gold of the CRS staff. The project was supervised for the Joint Economic Committee by Richard F. Kaufman. The views contained in this study are not necessarily those of the Joint Economic Committee or of its individual members. Congress of the United States, Washington, D. C. Dear Mr. Chairman: Transmitted herewith is a volume of studies on the Soviet economy entitled "Soviet Economy in the 1980's Problems and Prospects, Part 2." The studies were written by specialists who were invited to contribute and who are all experts on the economy of the Soviet Union. The authors come from universities, research organizations, and agencies of the Federal Government. The views expressed in the papers are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of their organizations or of the members of the Joint Economic Committee. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
Why did the Soviet economic system fall apart? Did the economy simply overreach itself through military spending? Was it the centrally-planned character of Soviet socialism that was at fault? Or did a potentially viable mechanism come apart in Gorbachev's clumsy hands? Does its failure mean that true socialism is never economically viable? The economic dimension is at the very heart of the Russian story in the twentieth century. Economic issues were the cornerstone of soviet ideology and the soviet system, and economic issues brought the whole system crashing down in 1989-91. This book is a record of what happened, and it is also an analysis of the failure of Soviet economics as a concept.
The Soviet economy faces in this decade the most fundamental peacetime problems it has known since the beginnings of the command system in the 1920s. What are the possible implications for Soviet military spending and foreign policy? Will economic constraints oblige the Soviet leadership to reduce its spending on the military sector, or at any rate to moderate the growth rate of arms spending? Will the Soviet leaders feel able to sustain the increasing costs of their foreign policies, especially in Eastern Europe? Will they face such difficulty that they will resort to draconian measures at home and adventure abroad as a means of maintaining the rule? Western analysts are virtually unanimous on the Soviet's economic difficulties but disagree among themselves about the implications. In this paper the reader will find some essential background information on the issues involved.
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