History & Area Studies / Thematic History / Economic History & Industrialization

Selling Socialism：he economic and political roots of the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Those Who Sold Socialism: The Shadow Economy in the USSR

Those Who Sold Socialism: The Shadow Economy in the USSR Продавшие социализм Теневая экономика в СССР This book provides an in-depth analysis of the economic and political roots of the collapse of the Soviet Union. Its central argument is that the expansion of the shadow economy was the decisive factor in the fall of the socialist system. The author notes that from the 1960s onward, this informal economy, parasitic on public ownership, spread rapidly. It not only gave rise to a privileged stratum with petty-bourgeois tendencies but also deeply corroded the Party’s core leadership through corruption. The book systematically traces the evolution from long-term neglect during the Brezhnev era to policy shifts under Gorbachev. It details how the "second economy" evolved from illegal profit-making into a political force that dismantled the state-planned system. Ultimately, the author criticizes Gorbachev’s blind embrace of privatization and market mechanisms under the banner of "perestroika", arguing that this provided legitimate cover for the criminal seizure of power by capitalists, leading to one of the most catastrophic social regressions in modern history.