ABSTRACT
The typical zveno established during the war years included a half dozen or so individuals, often from the same family. A. A. Andreev had traveled about the countryside and, drawing upon his observations, he argued that the wholesale adoption of the zveno, even in grain growing regions, would help solve the problems of Soviet agriculture. The post-Brezhnev leadership has signalled a recognition that Soviet agriculture is in a new "time of troubles," and nothing short of drastic change in the management of the farms will correct the situation. The Soviets have been observing their Hungarian neighbor make major adjustments in agricultural policy, throw out bulky centralized controls, institute independent teams and profit motive, and by doing so, increase production, yields, and efficiency enormously. The Soviet imposition of factory-type organization on the countryside with its living plants and animals has been costly.
