ABSTRACT
In the Fall of 1987, the Soviet Union had become the most interesting country in the world. The massive changes initiated in the Soviet Union call to mind Robespierre's observation that one week in the life of a revolution may produce more significant events than an entire year of normalcy. But to change the Soviet system, the new course initiated by Mikhail Gorbachev needs far more than a single year. Gorbachev's greatest plans for the change are in the economic sphere. One phrase used by the new General Secretary at the June, 1987 Plenum of the Central Committee succinctly sums up the present leadership's assessment of the Leonid Brezhnev era; it was characterized, he said, by the appearance of "pre-crisis phenomena." By the end of the Brezhnev era, Soviet society was chronically ill. Soviet economic performance depended on the viability and efficacy of two things: the Stalinist model of the economy and the model of economic growth.
