Russian Centrism and Revolutionary Transitions

An American political scientist documents the evolution of the influence during 1992-93 of the Russian centrist organization, Civic Union, interpreting its dynamics with reference to a suggested theory of “peaceful revolutions.” The study is based on extensive and repeated interviews in Russia with leaders of the organization and directors of state enterprises, and on documentary evidence collected in Russia and elsewhere from mid-1992 through September 1993. Included is a review of the centrist orientation towards economic reform, involving rejection of shock therapy, privatization favoring enterprise directors and workers, wage and price controls, and restrictions on foreign investment. Journal of Economic Literature Classification Numbers: P21, H11, L33.     

Agrarian Reform in Post-Soviet Russia

A leading American specialist on Soviet and Russian agriculture examines the politics and economics of agrarian reform in Russia. Coverage includes institutional reform, finance, local privatization, and interest group activities. Based on six extended visits to Russia during 1992-1994, participant observation, interviews and documentary materials, the author concludes that any successful reform must craft economic measures that will avoid recreating a unified rural bloc in opposition to reforms. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers P32, Q15, Q18.     

Citizen Activism in the Russian Transition

Two American specialists on Russia report the results of two nationwide surveys conducted in that country in 1992 (N = 1,393) and 1993 (N = 1,598). Focus was on rates and types of political activism and their correlation with attitudes toward economic and political reform. Conclusions are that different types of political activism attract different constituencies. People with higher income and occupational status participate in a wide range of activities but are significantly less likely than others to vote. Those with less to gain from the transition are more likely to vote—perhaps a legacy of communism—but take part less in activities which demand high levels of commitment and resources. Journal of Economic Literature Classification Numbers: P29, Jl8.     

The Municipalization of Enterprise-Owned “Social Assets” in Russia

One British and two Russian social scientists examine the causes and consequences of the transfer of responsibility for funding of social services from enterprises to municipalities in Russia. The study is part of a larger project, funded by the European Union, on the social impact of economic reform in Russia. The primary sources of data are official governmental statistics, data compiled by international organizations, and extensive surveys conducted among enterprise administrators, municipal officials, and the mass public. Regional differences are highlighted by the data; the authors offer recommendations for improvements in the financing of social services.     

The target strikes back: explaining countersanctions and Russia’s strategy of differentiated retaliation

This article analyzes Russia’s retaliatory food embargo, explaining why the Russian government banned some imports from the West but refrained from banning a range of equally plausible others. I argue that Moscow was following a strategy of differentiated retaliation when selecting which imports to embargo. The countersanctions were not designed to mete out equal punishment on all members of the sanctioning coalition. Rather, Russia purposefully crafted the policy to inflict greater economic damage on some states than others. Utilizing an original data-set on all agricultural and food products that Russia imports, I demonstrate that, ceteris paribus, imports of sizeable commercial value to countries the Kremlin has long viewed as the mainstays of anti-Russian policies were far more likely to have been banned. In contrast, the evidence shows that Moscow stayed its hand in dealing with Europe’s major powers. This analysis both illuminates the policy objectives being pursued by a leading actor in world politics, as well as lays the groundwork for theoretically understanding the geostrategic, political, and economic drivers of countersanctions.     

The Soviet Military–Industrial Complex and Economic Reform

The Soviet military and civilian economies are so closely integrated that economic reform cannot be treated as a purely civilian issue. Faltering economic growth coming at the same time as new challenges in the arms race has therefore focused the military's attention on how to improve the performance of the civilian economy. The Soviet military press has begun to portray current reform initiatives in a positive light, and the military economy has even been the model for some of these initiatives. Nonetheless, the military has not publicly supported any reforms involving marketization or private enterprise. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: 052, 114, 124.     

Diminishing returns: Russia’s participation in the World Trade Organization

Russia’s 2012 accession to the World Trade Organization was widely expected to spur economic growth and modernization, by helping the country abandon its import-substitution model and fully integrate into the global economy. However, thus far, Russia’s compliance record with its WTO commitments has been mixed, and WTO membership has given Russia limited economic benefits and few political gains. In analyzing why, this article uses neoclassical realism as a framework for assessing Russia’s behavior in WTO trade disputes and negotiations. During Russia’s economic recession, the regime of President Vladimir Putin advanced protectionist policies and maintained statist control over the heights of the economy, while using rhetorical strategies to counter accusations from Western powers that Russia had violated WTO norms. Russia’s struggling economy weakened its status as a global economic power, and it was viewed as unqualified to sit among the core group of negotiators in the WTO.     

On systemic transition: Will China go capitalist?

Transition from nonviable central administrative command planning (socialism) should be toward a full market system (capitalism). The requirements of such transition include: removal of the communist party from monopoly power; patience, determination, explanation, persuasion, and fairness; introduction of new legal, statistical, and accounting infrastructures and procedures; market freedom; demonopolization; privatization; macroeconomic stabilization; and external liberalization of trade and payments. Since 1978 China has taken steps to move its economic system in the capitalist direction, while retaining the communist party’s hold on political power (reduced from totalitarian to authoritarian control) and expanding quasi-private property rights without, however, fully privatizing the large, capital-intensive, state-owned industrial sector. In this sense, unlike many of the countries of central and eastern Europe and Russia, China has deferred the solution of some of the fundamental and potentially highly disruptive reform problems to an indefinite future, a postponement which, despite significant temporal successes, carries with it serious dangers for the entire reform enterprise.     

从“自由民主”到“可控民主”:俄罗斯政治体制改革的经济学解析与启示

从"自由民主"到"可控民主"俄罗斯的民主政治改革引起了广泛关注.本文在梳理俄罗斯政治体制改革曲折历程的基础上,力图运用放宽了假定条件的"新比较经济学"分析框架,解读俄罗斯政治体制改革与经济绩效之间的因果关系.文章认为,关于俄罗斯实行"可控民主"制度原因的诸多分析中,历史传统回归论是正确的,所以"可控民主"在俄罗斯将具有持久的生命力.     

Anatomy of Gorbachev's Economic Reform

The paper outlines and assesses the initial and potential effectiveness of a package of radical economic reforms, adopted by the CPSU Central Committee and Supreme Soviet in late June 1987. The areas involved include the central planning system, the enterprise, territorial versus sectoral management of the economy, the supply system, prices and wages, finance and credit, foreign trade, private and cooperative activity, and agriculture. Problems which may compromise the success of reform efforts, particularly inconsistencies between reform goals and long-established policies, are outlined as well. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: 027, 054, 124.     

Gorbachev's Wage Reform

The wage reform, an aspect of perestroyka, is described as it affects industry, and changes in the wage system are outlined. To stimulate better work, wages are being raised and differentials increased; to induce economies in labor, wage increases are to be financed from the enterprise's income. Self-financing and implementation of the reform to date are addressed as well, as are inconsistencies between the wage reform rules on self-financing and those of the Law on the State Enterprise. Finally, problems such as enterprise footdragging and unemployment and prospects for continued reform, inflationary pressure, and worker morale are considered. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: 027, 124, 824.     

Local Politics and Political Power in Russia: The Case of Yaroslavl'

An American political scientist surveys local political reforms in Russia as they were proposed in 1988-1989 and implemented in 1990-1991. Using the city and provincial governments of Yaroslavl' as a case study, the author examines whether old political elites have shown themselves capable of adapting to the new political rules and retaining influence over local decision making. The paper then assesses differences in the strength of this influence in rural and urban areas and consequences of the power struggle between old and new political elites for Russian President Yel'tsin's reform program. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: P20, H1.     

The Russian Election of 1993: Public Opinion and the Transition Experience

Two British specialists on Russia report the results of a nationwide survey of 2,030 Russian adults, randomly chosen from each of 50 provinces of the Russian Federation. A survey instrument containing 300 questions was administered in face-to-face interviews during summer 1993, and explored attitudes toward the market, privatization, social order, minority rights, and nationalism. Testing three alternative explanations for the results of the December 1993 Russian elections, the authors present a nuanced argument that the Russian public has been drawing negative lessons about market democracy from the transition itself, as experienced since January 1992. A higher voter turnout, they find, would have augmented the strength of anti-government parties and candidates. Journal of Economic literature, Classification Numbers: H19, P29     

Reflections on Economic Sovietology: A Comment

A specialist on Russian politics and society examines the apparent success of economic and political liberalism in Novgorod oblast' in the 1990s. The article is based on published and unpublished documentary sources from the region, as well as in-depth, repeated interviews with local officials during 1997-1999. Focus is on progress in economic reform, finance, and foreign investment, forms of political decentralization and representation, the growth civic associations, and styles of political leadership. Several explanations for these outcomes are proposed and discussed.     

The Russian Dimension of Baltic Maritime Governance

This paper seeks to reconstruct the development of Baltic maritime governance by filling in the gap in the systematic study of Russian maritime policy. In a review of historical, administrative, economic, and political facets of Russian maritime policy, the paper identifies the logic of “greatpowerness” underpinned by the category of “national interest” as its main driver. In this overall logic, cooperation with the EU in maritime affairs is a part of larger Russia’s EU politics. Thus, Baltic maritime governance depends on the ability of the EU and Russia to maintain constructive relations beyond the scope of the maritime domain.     

Between crises and sanctions: economic policy of the Russian Federation

This paper examines the root causes and features of crises of the Russian economy in 2014–2015 as a combination of structural and institutional problems, as well as cyclical and external shocks. The demand-side model of economic growth based on massive windfall revenue from oil and gas exports from the 2000s is now exhausted, and the country needs to shift to a new, supply-side model of growth. Mobilization and liberalization are discussed as two key economic policy alternatives. The analysis includes historical retrospection, which provides some important lessons from economic developments in the twentieth century: the Great Depression and the period of stagflation, the Soviet industrialization debate and perestroika, and the New Economic Policy in the USSR and the contemporary modernization of China. Special attention is paid to the mechanisms of economic growth acceleration in present-day Russia. They include macroeconomic stabilization, structural and institutional reforms based on liberalization of economic activity, and guarantees of property rights.     

Taking the “Poison Pill”: A Commentary on a Case Study

A prominent American specialist on legal affairs in the former Soviet Union and Russia comments upon a case study focused on managerial strategies to privatize a large industrial conglomerate. Efforts to prevent outsiders from buying the enterprise are likened to “poison pills” used in the United States to thwart hostile corporate takeovers. The commentary includes references to the tradition of corruption in Russian bureaucracy before and after the October Revolution and notes the difficulties encountered by Western lawyers advising foreign investors in recent years. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: K22, P13, P31.     

From Protection to Competition: The Politics of Trade Practices Reform in Australia and the Trade Practices Act 1965

The Trade Practices Act 1965 was widely criticised as being weak and unproductive. It was a significantly watered‐down version of the original Bill overseen by Garfield Barwick. Although the final form of the Act was perceived as ineffective at the time, it is now viewed as an important step towards a national competition policy and a precursor to the opening up of the Australian economy. This paper outlines the economic, political and social background to the introduction of the legislation. We specify some of the factors that explain why its creation caused controversy and its importance in initiating change in Australians' attitudes towards collusive behaviour and economic protectionism.     

Gorbachev's Economic Reform: A Soviet Economy Roundtable

The proceedings of a panel of American specialists devoted to the recent economic reform are summarized. The panelists noted that the most substantial changes to date have accompanied efforts to restructure the decisionmaking hierarchy—in particular, a recentralization of authority through the creation of biuros and state committees and legislation on individual economic activity. Changes in the systems of economic planning and incentives, on the other hand, have been minor, suggesting a continuing debate over the extent to which price reform and various economic incentives should be implemented. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: 052, 113, 124.     

The October Crisis of 1993: Context and Implications

An eminent British specialist on Russian politics analyzes the conflict between Boris Yel'tsin and his opponents that resulted in the bloody military showdown of October 3-4, 1993. Based upon materials gathered in Moscow during the events and on the author's personal observations and interviews, the article traces the origins and course of the wider conflict. It also interprets the implications of Yel'tsin's actions for the further development of democracy in Russia.