Privatization Conversion And Enterprise Reform In Russia

This volume provides an evaluation of initial efforts to convert post-Soviet Russian industry from that of a highly-centralized, military-oriented economy to that of a civilian economy with a stronger base in private enterprise. The authors address crucial issues of the embattled economic transformation at the level of particular enterprises and geographic regions as well as in the contexts of state policy, finance and planning. Their analyses offer readers an understanding of the various obstacles that impede post-Soviet economic restructuring and point to ways in which they may be overcome.

Seminar paper from the year 2007 in the subject Politics - Region: Russia, grade: A, York University, language: English, abstract: Fragmentation of state authority, lack of a clear legislative base, unreliability of the legal system, collapse of the industry, bisection of the GDP, runaway inflation, capital flight, rises in crime and corruption, tremendous decline in life expectancy: the political, economic and social results of Russia’s transition from plan to market under Yeltsin are devastating. Within a few years the “mighty” Soviet Union fell back from a major power to a third world economy, dealing with problems like mass poverty and epidemics. In light of these disastrous outcomes the question of what “went right” during the transition process seems to be even more appropriate then the question of what “went wrong”. However, while it seems to be obvious that the stabilization and liberalization attempts by the Russian government predominantly failed, privatization, the third core facet of transition1 , “has been touted as a one of the major successes of the Russian government’s economic transformation policy. By the beginning of 1996 77.2% of medium-size and large enterprises had been privatised, accounting for 88.3% of total industrial output.”2 On the one hand, according to the Russian government’s Western advisers this privatization is the fastest in human history and “seems to be one of the few positive fruit of Russian economic policy since 1991”3. On the other hand, a common point of view is that its implementation led to an unfair distribution of state assets and only benefited a minority of Russian population. This debate is going to be the main focus of this paper. By discussing the general importance of the private sector to a democracy, the aims of privatization, its subsequent reforms, and its results, I intend to assess the contribution of these reforms to the process of Russian democratization.

"This book contains a collection of papers prepared at a World Bank conference held in June 1994 on privatization and private sector development in Russia. It reviews the privatization achievements of Russian reformers over the past three years, discusses emerging second-tier privatization and post-privatization issues, and summarizes the key themes in the papers presented at the conference. Between November 1991 and June 1994: 1) between 12,000 and 14,000 medium-size and large enterprises had been transferred to private ownership; 2) this set of firms employed more than fourteen million people, or about half of those employed in Russia's industrial sector; 3) about forty million Russian citizens owned shares in privatized firms or investment funds. Although the Russian privatization program has achieved impressive results, the transfer of ownership (mainly to insiders) is only a first step. This must be followed by equally essential second steps to facilitate ownership of privatized firms to external, core investors who will bring in much needed capital, managerial know-how, and access to global markets." -- Website.

Privatizing Russia offers an inside look at one of the most remarkable reforms in recent history. Having started on the back burner of Russian politics in the fall of 1991, mass privatization was completed on July 1, 1994, with two thirds of the Russian industry privately owned, a rapidly rising stock market, and 40 million Russians owning company shares. The authors, all key participants in the reform effort, describe the events and the ideas driving privatization. They argue that successful reformers must recognize privatization as a process of depoliticizing firms in the face of massive opposition: making the firm responsive to market rather than political influences. The authors first review the economic theory of property rights, identifying the political influence on firms as the fundamental failure of property rights under socialism. They detail the process of coalition building and compromise that ultmately shaped privatization. The main elements of the Russian program -- corporatization, voucher use, and voucher auctions -- are described, as is the responsiveness of privatized firms to outside investors. Finally, the market values of privatized assets are assessed for indications of how much progress the country has made toward reforming its economy. In many respects, privatization has been a great success. Market concepts of property ownership and corporate management are shaking up Russian firms at a breathtaking pace, creating powerful economic and political stimuli for continuation of market reforms. At the same time, the authors caution, the political landscape remains treacherous as old-line politicians reluctantly cede their property rights and authority over firms.

Russia is moving dramatically ahead in reforming its economy and its firms. This joint Russian and American work focuses on the key issue in the Russian economic reform process—how to convert state-owned firms into successful private companies capable of competing in a market economy. Unique case studies of Russian enterprises, their legal and internal structure, management philosophy, and economic performance, provide insightful analyses of the ongoing Russian experience with economic reform. Recent Russian legislation and its implications for privatization are also discussed.

Volume 2 of this unique series on privatization covers Russia, Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

Dear Reader, Before you begin to study this book please be aware of the complexity of the "Conversion of Military Enterprises in Russia", The question of conversion is not only a change of the market and products it is in the former socialist and now "on the way of privatisation" -countries a complete reorganisation of the social structure and companies. In the past a performance of the Russian armaments' industry was a continual source of surprise to experts. It was obvious that apart from civilian industry there must be areas where important technological expertise had been created and built up. Since 5 years, conversion of military enterprise has been the principal topic of numerous conferences and studies. State institutions and international organisations can promote and accelerate the exchange of information and the restructuring process. However, the success of this process ultimately depends on how the economy will accept this change and how far market economy forces-can develop it. The NATO Advanced Research Workshop "Conversion of Military Enterprises in Russia- A Practical Approach of Industry and Science" was an excellent possibility for all participants from NATO-countries and from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus to discuss experiences and results after 5 years of reform period, All participating scientists noticed this aspect was proud to participate in this NATO event.