Stealing the State - Control and Collapse in Soviet Institutions

Steven Solnick argues, contrary to most current literature, that the Soviet system fell victim not to stalemate at the top nor to a revolution from below, but rather to opportunism from within. In three case studies--on the Communist Youth League, the system of job assignments for university graduates, and military conscription--Solnick makes use of rich archival sources and interviews to tell the story from a new perspective, and to employ and test Western theories of reform in the Soviet environment. He finds that even before Gorbachev, mechanisms for controlling bureaucrats in Soviet organizations were weak, allowing these individuals great latitude in their actions.

List of contents

About the author

Steven L. Solnick is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Columbia University.

Summary

Solnick argues that the Soviet system fell victim not to stalemate at the top nor to revolution from below, but to opportunism from within. In case studies on the Communist Youth League, the system of job assignments for university graduates, and military conscription, he tells the story from a new perspective, testing Western theories of reform.

Product details

• Authors: Steven L. Solnick
• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 07.01.1998
• EAN: 9780674836808
• ISBN: 978-0-674-83680-8
• No. of pages: 352
• Dimensions: 169 mm x 248 mm x 27 mm
• Weight: 636 g
• Illustrations: 5 line illustrations, 21 tables
• Series: Russian Research Center Studie; Russian Research Center Studies; Russian Research Center Studies
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History; Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political theories and the history of ideas