Perestroika

Quote

“The goal of perestroika is to make the Soviet Union richer, stronger, better; raise it to a qualitatively new level.”
–Mikhail Gorbachev, 📘 Perestroika (1987)

Historiography: Jonathan Haslam

Gorbachev fundamentally "sought to improve the Soviet Union, not destroy it.”
–Jonathan Haslam

• Perestroika: ‘restructuring’ the economy instead of dismantling it
  • planning was decentralized → certain degree of self-planning allowed in businesses
    • managers were allowed to implement changes without waiting for state approval or permission from GOSPLAN
    • basically ‘shock therapy’ á la ga ge kai fang for China; the Soviet economy didn’t know how to cope
      • managers didn’t know how to make businesses profitable or adapt to market needs without GOSPLAN breathing down their necks
  • state price controls ended → standards of living ↓ but foreign investment was now possible
  • resulted in uncertainty over employment and economy
• alcoholism was a Big Problem… banning alcohol → loss of state revenue
  • people absent because of drinking, people showing up to work drunk, etc.
• nothing on shelves to buy – sugar, wheat, bread (basics) are in short supply → people were still queuing for state handouts
• high inflation due to all these changes
  • any economic gains caused by Perestroika were cancelled out by the rise of cost of living