ABSTRACT
I did not invent the title of this chapter: the organisers of the Conference did. It is challenging, but opens boundless vistas. A book on the economic history of Russia, reinforced by long commentaries on various historical interpretations of Russian development, might meet the bill – 700 pages, say. Time is a scarce commodity, however, and the patience of conference participants and author alike wears thin. So what I shall do is to discuss a few selected aspects of Russian history which bear on the theme represented by the chapter title.
