Issue 1 (82)
| SOVIET LEADERS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SOVNARKHOZ REFORM: FROM IDEAS TO REALIZATION (1953–1957) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 2024 | Number | 1(82) |
| Pages | 108-118 | Type | scientific article |
| UDC | 94(47)“1953/1957” | BBK | 63.3(2)632-06 |
| Authors | Simonov Maxim A. Pivovarov Nikita Yu. |
Topic | SOCIO-ECONOMIC HISTORY OF RUSSIA |
| Summary | The article considers the development of the 1957 Sovnarkhoz reform. The authors identified the main stages of work on it and defined the role of the highest authorities. Although the idea of granting economic independence to the regions was discussed by the USSR leadership even before the outbreak of the war, the main approaches to reform began to be developed after March 1953. The initiator of the reform was G. M. Malenkov. In August 1953, a meeting was held at which proposals were discussed on the possibility of allowing local leaders to freely dispose of investments in industry. However, the stabilization of the economy as a whole led to the fact that the government refused to expand the economic independence of the regions. The issue reappeared on the political agenda of the highest authorities only after Malenkov’s resignation. The development of the reform was carried out in parallel in the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR. The first version of the reforms was presented by the government of N. A. Bulganin in the spring of 1956. It was a moderate project, which assumed a gradual increase in the economic independence of the regions. In contrast to the Bulganin project, N. S. Khrushchev hastily proposed a radical option, which provided for the transfer of control of the entire regional industry to new bodies — the sovnarkhozes. This approach was opposed by representatives of the state apparatus, primarily All-Union and Union-Republican ministers. They were supported by the oldest member of the Presidium of the Central Committee, V. M. Molotov. However, N. S. Khrushchev’s initiative was supported by local authorities, which allowed launching the reform process. As the authors show, treating reform as an instrument of political struggle, and not as a goal of reforming the Soviet economy, determined in the future permanent changes in the sovnarkhozes system. | ||
| Keywords | Sovnarkhoz, industrial management, N. S. Khrushchev, N. A. Bulganin, G. M. Malenkov | ||
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