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PROPERTY RELATIONS FROM THE USSR TO THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION: CONTINUITY OR CHANGE? A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY SERAP ATALAY IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS SEPTEMBER 2005 Approval of the Graduate School of Social Sciences Prof. Dr. Sencer AYATA Director I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the degree of Master of Science of International Relations. Prof. Dr. Atilla ERALP Head of Department This is to certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Science of International Relations. Assist. Prof. Dr. Pınar BED ĐRHANO ĞLU Supervisor Examining Committee Members Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pınar AKÇALI (METU, ADM) Assist. Prof. Dr. Pınar BED ĐRHANO ĞLU (METU, IR) Assist. Prof. Dr. Ay şegül K ĐBARO ĞLU (METU, IR) I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work. Name, Last name: Serap ATALAY Signature : iii ABSTRACT PROPERTY RELATIONS FROM THE USSR TO THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION: CONTINUITY OR CHANGE? ATALAY, Serap M.Sc., Department of International Relations Supervisor: Assist. Prof. Dr. Pınar BED ĐRHANO ĞLU September 2005, 123 pages This study, by focusing on the economic reform attempts in the USSR and the privatization process in the Russian Federation, will question the scope of political change in Russia during the capitalist transformation process until the end of the Yeltsin period. It will be argued that the determination of the political processes on property relations during the time of the USSR persisted in the Yeltsin period since after the collapse of the USSR, main political actors of the Soviet system such as the Party and ministry officials and the enterprise managers maintained their dominant positions within the property relations. As will be shown in the thesis, this was ensured through their successful interventions in the privatization processes. Hence, people who had important positions in the former Soviet Union, became whether the new owners of state assets, or had the authority to determine the new owners. Keywords: Property Relations, Russia, USSR, Privatization iv ÖZ SSCB’DEN RUSYA FEDERASYONUNA MÜLK ĐYET ĐLĐŞ KĐLER Đ: DEVAMLILIK MI, DE ĞĐŞĐ M M Đ? ATALAY, SERAP Yüksek Lisans, Uluslarası Đli şkiler Bölümü Tez Yöneticisi: Yrd. Doç. Dr. Pınar BED ĐRHANO ĞLU Eylül 2005, 123 sayfa Bu çalı şma, Yeltsin döneminin sonuna kadarki süreç içinde kapitalist dönüşüm sürecinde Rusya’da ya şanan politik de ğişimin kapsamını, SSCB’deki ekonomik reformlar ve Rusya Federasyonu’ndaki özelle ştirme sürecine odaklanarak inceleyecektir. SSCB döneminde mülkiyet ili şkileri üzerindeki politik sürecin belirleyicili ği SSCB yıkıldıktan sonra Yeltsin döneminde de devam etti, Parti ve bakanlık yetkilileri ve i şletme müdürleri gibi Sovyet sisteminin ba şlıca politik aktörleri mülkiyet ili şkileri bakımından baskın konumlarını sürdürdüler. Tezde görülece ği gibi, bu onların özelle ştirme sürecine yaptıkları ba şarılı müdaheleleri yoluyla sa ğlandı. Böylece, eski Sovyetler Birli ği’nde önemli konumlara sahip olan kimseler, ya devlet mallarının yeni sahibi oldular ya da yeni sahipleri belirleme yetkisine sahip oldular. Anahtar Kelimeler: Mülkiyet Đli şkileri, Rusya, SSCB, Özelle ştirme v To My Lover vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The author wishes to express her deepest gratitude to her supervisor, Assist. Prof. Dr. Pınar BED ĐRHANO ĞLU, for her guidance, advice, criticism, encouragements and insight throughout the research. The author would also like to thank to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pınar AKÇALI and Assist. Prof. Dr. Aysegül K ĐBARO ĞLU for their comments and suggestions. The author would also like to thank to her husband and best friend, Mr. Murat Engin AKKA Ş for his endless encouragements and moral support throughout the research. Without his love, encouragement and editing assistance, everything would be more difficult. The author would also like to thank to her friend, Aslı for her support. Finally, the author would like to express her most sincere gratitude to her mother, father, sister and brother. She owes her success to their eternal love and patience. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS PLAGIARISM..................................................................................................iii ABSTRACT .....................................................................................................iv ÖZ .....................................................................................................................v DEDICATION .................................................................................................vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS...............................................................................vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ...............................................................................viii LIST OF TABLES .........................................................................................xiii LIST OF FIGURES........................................................................................xiv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ......................................................................... xv CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION................................................................................... 1 2. THE SOVIET SYSTEM AND REFORM ATTEMPTS ........................5 2.1 Introduction..................................................................................... 5 2.2 General Features of the Soviet System............................................ 6 2.2.1 Constitutional Structure of the Soviet System .............................6 2.2.1.1 Legislation................................................................................. 6 2.2.1.2 Execution................................................................................... 7 2.2.1.3 The CPSU.................................................................................. 8 2.2.1.4 The VSNKh............................................................................... 9 2.2.2 Planning Process........................................................................... 9 viii 2.2.3 Property Relations in the USSR................................................. 12 2.2.3.1 Traditional Russian Property Relations................................... 12 2.2.3.2 Soviet Property System........................................................... 13 2.2.3.2.1 Property System in Law and Marxist Theory ......................13 2.2.3.2.2 Property Relations in Practice.............................................. 16 2.3 Reform Attempts........................................................................... 18 2.3.1 Systemic Problems of the Soviet Economy ...............................18 2.3.2 The New Economic Policy......................................................... 21 2.3.3 Khrushchev Reforms.................................................................. 24 2.3.4 Kosygin Reforms in the 1960s................................................... 27 2.3.4.1 Implementation of the Kosygin Reforms................................30 2.3.4.2 The Impact of the Kosygin Reforms on Economic Performance......................................................................................... 31 2.3.5 The Reform Efforts in the 1970s................................................ 33 2.3.5.1 The 1973 Reforms................................................................... 33 2.3.5.2 The July 1979 Decree.............................................................. 35 2.4 Conclusion..................................................................................... 37 3. GORBACHEV REFORMS .................................................................. 38 3.1 Introduction................................................................................... 38 3.2 Gorbachev’s Reformist Posture..................................................... 39 3.3 Traditional Reform Attempts ........................................................ 41 3.4 Moderate Property Reforms.......................................................... 43 3.4.1 Law on Individual Labour Activity............................................ 44 3.4.2 Law on Sate Enterprises............................................................. 45 ix 3.5 Radical Property Reforms............................................................. 47 3.5.1 Law on Cooperatives.................................................................. 47 3.5.2 Political Situation and the Reform Debates ............................... 49 3.5.3 Law on Lease.............................................................................. 50 3.6 Ownership Debate and Laws on Property.....................................52 3.6.1 USSR Law on Ownership and Legislations Concerning Property ............................................................................................... 53 3.6.2 Political and Social Developments............................................. 55 3.6.3 The Establishment of the Russian Republic...............................58 3.7 Conclusion..................................................................................... 60 4. MASS PRIVATIZATIONS .................................................................