Heading for Acceleration of Social and Economic Development in the USSR During Perestroika: Analysts’ Appraisal

In view of researching modernization processes of the country economic system the article studies representative interpretations of policy aiming at speeding-up being the foundation of strategy of social and economic development in the USSR at the 1st stage of perestroika (1985–1986/87). The authors showed viewpoints of prominent Russian and overseas researchers, such as J. Boff, V. A. Mau, M .F. Polynov, U. Taubman, F. Hanson,

A. V. Shubin and others on the following points: interconnection of the course for acceleration and economic policy pursued by Yu. V. Andropov and K. U. Chernenko, chronological borders of this course, its chances for success, adequacy of the acceleration concept to top-priority tasks in the field of economic development in the USSR and results of the 1st stage of perestroika. The article highlighted that even at the initial points of perestroika prominent analysts, mainly overseas, doubted in possible prospects of acceleration policy referring to excessive ambitions of its targets, insufficient resources and poor reformation potential. In the 1990-s similar appraisals appeared in Russian researchers’ publications. The authors pointed out that in the early 2000-s experts focused on quality of the acceleration concept itself. Vast memoirs literature (N. I. Ryzhkov, V. A. Kryuchkov, A. S. Cherniaev, A. N. Yakovlev, etc.) had showed up, which provided an opportunity to clarify history of shaping and implementing the acceleration concept. It was pointed out that perestroika historiography advances an opinion, according to which not all aspects of the acceleration concept were studied enough and unfavorable external factors, mistakes made by reformers and restrictions of constructive potential of the acceleration course resulted in failures in its implementation. It was underlined that the research can promote understanding of historic peculiarity of Russian economic system transformation.

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