The Soviet Enterprise: What Have We Learned from the Archives?

Abstract

Business historians have hitherto paid only scant attention to the Soviet experience. This article is an attempt to summarize the knowledge we have gained in the two decades following the collapse of the Soviet economy, and draws on published research, document volumes, and previously unexplored archival sources. In the conclusion, I make the case that the Soviet experience can provide relevant comparative examples for the field of business history.