Description: In 1929-30, the 'spinal year' of the first five-year plan, a vast investment programme began the transformation of the Soviet Union from a peasant country into a great industrial power. This book, the third part of The Industrialisation of Soviet Russia, re-examines the breakdown of the mixed economy. In those days of heroism and enthusiasm, hunger and repression, crucial Soviet economic and political institutions were established, and are only now being effectively challenged by Gorbachev's revolution. While complementing the previous two volumes of this author's work, the book is designed to be read independently. It sheds new light on a dramatic moment in Soviet history and in the formation of the Soviet system.
Review Quotes:
'R.W. Davies lays bare the chaotic reality behind the images and illuminates both the successes of the new centralized economy and its colossal dislocations ... Davies is the foremost economic historian of Stalin's Soviet Union ... Though no historical work is ever 'definitive', Davies' three volumes on the industrialization of Soviet Russia are foundation stones for any further studies.' - Ronald Suny, Business History Review
'Future generations of university students may well follow courses on comparative Russian/Soviet perestroika studies from Peter the Great to Gorbachev. If so, they will find The Soviet Economy in Turmoil an essential text.' - David Dyker, Slavonic and East European Review