In 1929-30, the 'spinal year' of the first five-year plan, a vast
investment programme began the transformation of the Soviet Union from a
peasant country into a great industrial power. This book, the third part
of The Industrialisation of Soviet Russia, re-examines the breakdown of
the mixed economy. In those days of heroism and enthusiasm, hunger and
repression, crucial Soviet economic and political institutions were
established, and are only now being effectively challenged by
Gorbachev's revolution. While complementing the previous two volumes of
this author's work, the book is designed to be read independently. It
sheds new light on a dramatic moment in Soviet history and in the
formation of the Soviet system.