Party Members Were Supposed to be a New Type of "Homo Soveticus" Dedicated to Building Socialism in a Planned Economy Where All Exchanges Were Planned

This chapter analyzes the efforts of Soviet authorities to deter and prosecute "illegal" economic activities in the 1930s through the party's top control commission. Major economic positions were filled by the Politburo itself, where appointments dominated its agenda. Party members were supposed to be a new type of homo soveticus, dedicated to building socialism. According to official Soviet descriptions of the planned economy, all exchanges were planned, managers were loyal, and everyone was motivated by the goal of building socialism. There was no room for economic crimes and misdemeanors. We show, to the contrary, that economic agents, most of them party members, regularly broke the rules of the leadership, in spite of the real threat of punishment. Why would a planned economy managed by party members be so prone to violations of economic rules and laws?

The opening of the Soviet state and party archives provides an opportunity to study the "unofficial" behavior of the managers of the economy's resources; namely, factory managers, industrial ministry officials, and regional authorities. Such "managers of production" were judged by concrete economic results--production, adherence to labor plans, fulfillment of production assortments, cost reduction plans, and the like. Their goal was to fulfill their plans, using any means at their disposal, even if that meant violating rules and laws. The pioneering work of Joseph Berliner (1957) provided the first conclusive insights into the real life of Soviet managers. Using interviews with former Soviet managers to pierce the veil of official secrecy, Berliner found routine falsification, the use of unofficial resources, and the trading of resources by enterprise "pushers"--all of which violated Soviet law.

--Eugenia Belova, "Economic Crime and Punishment," in Behind the Façade of Stalin's Command Economy: Evidence from the Soviet State and Party Archives, ed. Paul R. Gregory (Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution Press, 2001), 131-132.