ABSTRACT
The political process in the Soviet Union is organized in such a way that the party leadership takes the more important decisions, which are then executed by the government apparatus but under the supervision of the party apparatus. In contrast to policy decision making administration of the economy by government agencies is firmly in the hand of professionals. Approximately 75 percent of the ministers and state committee chairmen sitting on the Council of Ministers have a professional background and rose through the administrative ranks to the top of their respective hierarchy. Apart from the prospects for administrative reform, increasing departmentalism enhances the importance of the intermediate level coordinating the individual economic branches. The main purpose of the ruling oligarchy and of the executive bureaucracy alike is the preservation of power. Economic institutions are instruments of political rule and not of policy making.
