Book Description

This book analyses the relationship between economic power and political authority in the Soviet system. In it, Stephen Whitefield takes issue with those who think that communist politicians successfully dominated the economy and society. He argues, on the contrary, that politicians' effortsto build authority in the industrial sector were a key source of political instability, and that perestroika was the last in a series of failed attempts by Soviet leaders to gain control of the behaviour of the institutions they themselves had created. In an administered economy, industrial organization is vitally important in structuring the interests and behaviour of social groups. The dilemma for Soviet politicians was that their attempts to build authority over industrial actors destabilized society and ultimately resulted in the collapse ofthe Soviet state itself. But industrial power has outlived the Soviet Union, and this book concludes by showing how industry continues to exert a crucial influence on Russian government and society.