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This book analyses the relationship between economic power and political authority in the Soviet system. In it, Stephen Whitefield takes issue with those who think that communist politicians successfully dominated the economy and society. He argues, on the contrary, that politicians' effortsto build authority in the industrial sector were a key source of political instability, and that perestroika was the last in a series of failed attempts by Soviet leaders to gain control of the behaviour of the institutions they themselves had created. In an administered economy, industrial organization is vitally important in structuring the interests and behaviour of social groups. The dilemma for Soviet politicians was that their attempts to build authority over industrial actors destabilized society and ultimately resulted in the collapse ofthe Soviet state itself. But industrial power has outlived the Soviet Union, and this book concludes by showing how industry continues to exert a crucial influence on Russian government and society.
This book, first published in 1990, examines the origins and evolution of the security police, considering the continuities as well as changes in its function as guardian of the regime’s security. It analyses the KGB’s involvement in Kremlin politics, the structure and organisation of the KGB, its formal tasks and legal prerogatives as set forth by the Party leadership, and the actual functions it performs on behalf of the Soviet regime. Underlying this analysis is an attempt to assess the power and authority of the KGB relative to other political institutions and to explain the crucial dynamics of the Party- KGB relationship.