Publisher's Synopsis
The epic tale of the Soviet Union s quest to construct a socialist economy was, until recently, the principal motif of textbooks on the Russian economy. Traditional Soviet and post–Soviet books usually adopt a historical approach, exploiting the dichotomies between socialism and capitalism as a convenient device for highlighting the differences in Soviet and western arrangements. These conventions remain useful, but require refurbishing.
Rosefielde s new text offers a more sober recounting of the Bolshevik saga, stripped bare of socialist romanticism, and focused equally on the micro– and macroeconomics of administrative command planning as well as Russia s post–Communist market system. Understanding the Soviet economic system and the causes of its failure are central to any student s study of Russia s struggle toward a market economy and its prospects for the future.
