The Soviet Prefects

Is there a link between the collapse of the Soviet Union, the radical reforms in China and Vietnam, and the current crisis in East Asia? David Lockwood argues that the common factor in each is the crisis of state-controlled economies, besieged by the developing forces of globalization. This book examines the collapse of the Soviet Union not as the 'end of history', or the beginning of a 'new world order', but as an illustration of processes that are taking place the world over. The author concludes that it was globalization that brought down the communist system. Globalization continues to threaten state-controlled economies - from the remaining 'socialist' state to the NICs of East Asia.

The Sovnarkhoz Reform of 1957 was designed by Khrushchev to improve efficiency in the Soviet economic system by decentralising economic decision making from all-Union branch ministries in Moscow to the governments of the individual republics and regional economic councils. Based on extensive original research, including unpublished archival material, this book examines the reform, discussing the motivations for it, which included Khrushchev's attempt to strengthen his own power base. The book explores how the process of reform was implemented, especially its impact on the republics, and analyses why the reform, which was reversed in 1959, failed. Overall, the book reveals a great deal about the workings, and the shortcomings, of the Soviet economic system at its height.

This multidisciplinary study of entrepreneurship in Russian society from the sixteenth to the twentieth century demonstrates the crucial influence of central government on economic initiative. Originally published in 1983. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

The fall of the Communist regime in the USSR and Russia's search for a democratic and prosperous market-based future is one of the most compelling episodes of the end of the twentieth century. A central part in this drama is being played by political elites. These essays, written by some of the leading scholars in the field, analyse various aspects of the role being played by elites and leaders in Russian politics. Among the issues dealt with are: the origins of the Russian elites, including the issue of continuity with the Soviet past; the relationship between political and economic elites; the means taken by elites to structure politics and their relations; the dynamic of elite politics, and the nature of post-communism. These essays deal with many of the crucial questions facing Russia today.

This volume analyzes the changing power relations in the Russian regions and in their relationship with the centre. It considers Russian federalism and the changes that Putin has introduced, and the distribution of power at the regional level. The result is a rich survey of the state of federal relations in Russia.