A Social History Of Soviet Trade

In this sweeping study, Julie Hessler traces the invention and evolution of socialist trade, the progressive constriction of private trade, and the development of consumer habits from the 1917 revolution to Stalin's death in 1953. The book places trade and consumption in the context of debilitating economic crises. Although Soviet leaders, and above all, Stalin, identified socialism with the modernization of retailing and the elimination of most private transactions, these goals conflicted with the economic dynamics that produced shortages and with the government's bureaucratic, repressive, and socially discriminatory political culture. A Social History of Soviet Trade explores the relationship of trade--official and unofficial--to the cyclical pattern of crisis and normalization that resulted from these tensions. It also provides a singularly detailed look at private shops during the years of the New Economic Policy, and at the remnants of private trade, mostly concentrated at the outdoor bazaars, in subsequent years. Drawing on newly opened archives in Moscow and several provinces, this richly documented work offers a new perspective on the social, economic, and political history of the formative decades of the USSR.

This is a volume of essays exploring important themes in the economic and social history of Russia and the Soviet Union during the critical period between 1860 and 1930. It covers developments in agriculture, industry, trade, economic theory, defence policy and the social impact of revolution. The essays are written by well-established specialists in Russian and Soviet economic and social history and are intended as a tribute to the work of the highly-esteemed economic historian Olga Crisp.

"This is a fine book, impressive in both quantity and quality." --Journal of Economic History "The collection stands out as one of the most useful volumes currently available on the Soviet Union in the 1930s." --Labour History Review "Altogether, this book succeeds in opening up the social history of the Soviet Union in the era of planning for those students and scholars who are ready to advance beyond the old stereotypes." --ILWCH The pathbreaking essays assembled here examine the complex pattern of relationships between the first Five Year Plans and the society and culture of Stalinist Russia. Discussion focuses on urbanization, social mobility, questions of social identity and the cultural constructions of the industrialization drive, as well as work organization, management relations, and the underlying processes of industrial organization.

This book is the first critical assessment of the likelihood and implications of such a contract. Linda Cook pursues the idea from Brezhnev's day to our own, and considers the constraining effect it may have had on Gorbachev's attempts to liberalize the Soviet economy.

Our knowledge of modern Russian society has been greatly enriched by the research of recent decades. But while the politics of the period has been exhaustively documented, the social history remains less familiar. Vladimir Andrle's book is the first to draw together the findings and insights of this research to give us a comprehensive view of Russia's social history, starting at a time when the tsarist state seemed unassailable, and ending with the disintegration of the Soviet system.

In the early 1930s Soviet authorities launched a campaign to create "socialist" retailing and also endorsed Soviet consumerism. How did the Stalinist regime reconcile retailing and consumption with socialism? This book examines the discourses that the Stalinist regime's new approach to retailing and consumption engendered.

Almost twenty years after the Soviet Union's end, what are we to make of its existence? Was it a heroic experiment, an unmitigated disaster, or a viable if flawed response to the modern world? What was the Soviet Union like? How did it evolve over seven decades? What was the relationship between the regime and the general population? This introduction blends political history with an investigation into the society and culture at the time. The author examines aspects of patriotism, mass culture, political violence, poverty, and ideology; and provides answers to some of the big questions about the Soviet experience.