Right Data

Perestroika Stumbles

THE SOVIET ECONOMY is in an “unstable state” where inflation and shortages have “made daily life miserable for all but the most privileged segments of society,” according to a recent CIA study. Prospects for even a modest recovery appear remote, and a number of events— strikes in fuel and transportation sectors, ethnic unrest in economically vital regions such as the Ukraine, consumer panic that brings hyperinflation and greater reliance on barter trade—could reduce output by as much a 20 per cent over a year or two.

ER

About the Author

Ed Rubenstein

Perestroika Stumbles

THE SOVIET ECONOMY is in an “unstable state” where inflation and shortages have “made daily life miserable for all but the most privileged segments of society,” according to a recent CIA study. Prospects for even a modest recovery appear remote, and a number of events— strikes in fuel and transportation sectors, ethnic unrest in economically vital regions such as the Ukraine, consumer panic that brings hyperinflation and greater reliance on barter trade—could reduce output by as much a 20 per cent over a year or two.