ABSTRACT
The multinational character of the Soviet state, especially the concentration of particular nationalities in historically defined geographic areas, has greatly complicated the formulation of economic policy, planning, and administration in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) from the beginning to the present. Lenin's much-touted "nationalities policy" has provided the ideological framework for coping with the large economic and cultural disparities among ethnic groups. The goal of equalizing development rates has been replaced by a stated intent to ensure economic development in all republics. Turning from the production side of the development process to the consumption side, it is necessary to consider trends and relative living standards among the republics. The USSR is in the midst of a manpower management problem of unprecedented scope, complicated by its ethnic dimension. The situation has been created by declining birth rates overall and by the large differences in birth rates among nationalities.
