ABSTRACT
In his Economic History of the USSR, Nove summarizes Khrushchev’s role in Soviet economic development in the following, rather fitting, one-line characteristic: ‘But in the end he knew only the traditional methods.’ 1 Much of our presentation in this chapter can be summarized in that very same sentence. It will be our ambition to examine and demonstrate how Khrushchev, although he certainly made a lot of noise about it, did not in any important way manage to alter the basic principles of running the Soviet economy. The question of whether he actually intended to do so, and in such a case to what extent, falls within the political realm and will thus not be dealt with here.
