The political collapse of the Soviet Union has been much better documented than the course of its economic and social disintegration. To get an inside account, Ellman and Kontorovich questioned former top Soviet officials and economic and other policy advisors (both Soviet and foreign) who were privy not only to the data but also to the internal policy debate during the 1980s. They have woven their informants' analyses of key issues and turning points into a compelling history of systemic collapse.

Résumé
In order to understand the course of economic and social disintegration in the Soviet Union, various questions were put to Soviet officials and economic and other policy advisors of the 1980s. This text assembles the analyses of key issues and turning points into a history of the systemic collapse.

Contenu

Chapter 1 About the Study, Michael Ellman, Vladimir Kontorovich; Chapter 2 What We Learn from the Insiders, Michael Ellman, Vladimir Kontorovich; Chapter 3 The USSR in the Mid-1980s: Structural Factors; Chapter 4 The USSR in the Mid-1980s: Rulers Perceptions; Chapter 5 Early Attempts at Change, 1983 1987; Chapter 6 `Radical Economic Reform, 1987 1989; Chapter 7 Political Reform, 1988 1991; Chapter 8 Attempts at Market Reform, 1989 1991; Chapter 9 Reforms on the Sectoral and Enterprise Levels; Chapter 10 From Reform to the Eve of Revolution;