Money, property and the demise of the CPSU

Abstract

Previous studies of the disintegration of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), which was central to the Soviet collapse, have not paid sufficient attention to its financial aspect. However, the CPSU, in its final years, faced a financial crisis due mainly to the decline in its membership. Moreover, the elected soviets demanded the nationalization of party property. These forced the party to protect its property through engaging in commercial activity. This led in turn to unintended consequences of, first, transforming the CPSU into a commercial organization and, second, the dispersal of party property. The combined effect of these tendencies was to render the organization incapable of performing its traditional role of ruling party.