The Russian Economy Twenty Years after the End of the Socialist Economic System

Abstract

It is now more than twenty years since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the beginning of transition to a market economy. The non-market, ‘planned’ economic system of the old order had its own specific mode of functioning, which over time had a profound impact on the structure of the economy. The article explores the extent to which the far-reaching economic transformation undertaken in post-communist Russia since the end of 1991 has overcome the legacies of the Soviet system. Has the socialist economic order that existed for over sixty years disappeared entirely, or are there still survivals and legacies that shape and influence, at least in part, the present-day Russian economy? These issues are examined by focussing on one particular sector that played a dominant role in the USSR, namely the defence industry and the military economy more generally. It is concluded that there are indeed significant survivals and legacies of the socialist past: market transformation is still incomplete.