Modernising Lenin's Russia: Economic Reconstruction, Foreign Trade and the Railways

by Anthony Heywood

Overview

In this book Anthony Heywood reassesses Bolshevik attitudes toward economic modernization and foreign economic relations during the early Soviet period. Based on hitherto unused Russian and Western archives, the book examines an extraordinary decision made in March 1920 to import vast quantities of railway equipment in order to achieve rapid economic modernization. This is the first detailed case study of the government's import policy, and provides readers with a new perspective on Soviet economic development, revealing the scale of Bolshevik business dealings with the capitalist West immediately after the Revolution.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521027175
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	06/22/2006
Series:	Cambridge Russian, Soviet and Post-Soviet Studies , #105
Pages:	364
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 8.98(h) x 1.10(d)
Lexile:	1730L (what's this?)

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements; Introduction; Part I. Towards Economic Reconstruction, 1917–20: The Birth of the Railway Imports Policy: 1. Prologue; 2. The revolutionary railway vision; Part II. Trade and Isolation, 1920–1: Implementing the Railway Imports Policy: 3. Krasin's first results; 4. Approaches to Britain and Germany; 5. Second thoughts; Part III. Retreat, 1921–4: 6. The new order; 7. Denouement; Conclusion; Notes; Bibliography; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"Studies the Soviet government's railway imports policy between 1920 and 1924." Journal of Economic Literature

"This excellent book will interest scholars of Soviet foreign policy as well as all who are concerned with early Soviet economic policymaking and the transition to NEP." The Russian Review, vol.59

"This is an accomplished piece of scholarly research, which draws on an array of archival sources, including Lomonosov's period archive. Hey wood sticks close to his sources, and is cautious in drawing wider conclusions. But what he documents is an early example of the Soviet enchantment with technology and with grandiose schemes for the speedy transformation of the economy. In this we have a marriage between the political dreamers of the party and the technological visionaries among the engineers." The International History Review

"Heywood's book makes an important contribution to our understanding of Soviet economic development in the early 1920s." Slavic Review, Vol. 60

"...Heywood's study serves a broader readership since, in addition to Russian specialists, those interested in interwar European trade or the international locomotive business in the 1920s will derive much benefit from his study." Journal of Economics

"Anthony Heywood tells four interrelated stories in this impressive monography...The author presents in fascinating detail th confusions and imbrogolios of different negotiations...excellent study" Jrnl of Modern History

"Heywood's work is meticulously researched. His judgments are sound, and his writing is clear. This book is highly recommended for specialists and for students of the Soviet experiment." American Historical Review

From the Publisher