THE BIRTH OF A “NEW” ECONOMY: OVERCENTRALIZATION OF THE INDUSTRY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM OF THE USSR (SECOND HALF OF THE 1920s-1930s)

Abstract

The economy of modern Russia is in rather unfavorable conditions for its development. Economic growth rates have lagged behind the world average for a long time, and production indicators are falling. And all this is taking place in the context of growing international isolationism, which does not allow the full use of external loans and technologies. In turn, this situation is sensitively reflected in the quality and standard of living of the population, which are declining every year. The reasons for the current difficulties must be sought not only in modern phenomena, but also in those processes that took place in the past. Simultaneously with them, it is necessary to identify examples of successful development of statehood, which allowed the country to achieve significant, in certain periods - exponential, growth of the domestic economy. In this regard, an example of such a period is the second half of the 1920s - 1930s, when in a short period of time the USSR was able to achieve a colossal increase in the gross indicators of the economy and take its rightful place among the leading industrial states. It seems to us that the reasons for such a powerful rise were the over-centralization of the economy. It helped to reveal the hidden reserves of Soviet society, to streamline the activities of all elements of the management system. This aspect determined the goal of our study as a study of the emergence of a super-centralized system of industrial management in the USSR.