ABSTRACT
According to Marx i Engels, ownership is the first fundamental element of every economic system. The subsequent legal analysis of each element of Soviet economy, beginning with ownership, continuing with production, and ending with distribution and exchange, must strengthen and enrich the conclusion formulated. The doctrinal terminology stemming from Marx is supplemented by official terminology created by the Soviet authorities and expressed in their theoretical dogmata or even in legal provisions. As collective ownership, socialist ownership could be exercised by two types of collective bodies: the Soviet state and collective farms or other cooperative organizations. The Soviets themselves rationalize their laws from the Marxist point of view. Mikhail Gorbachev has eloquently demonstrated that for Soviet leaders economic dogmata are one thing and economic practice is entirely another. The dominant bureaucracy, functioning under the title of the Soviet state, is the sole proprietor of the Soviet economy, there being only certain insignificant exceptions.
