Committee for the Operational Management of the USSR National Economy: An Attempt to Preserve a United Economic Space in August – November 1991

Abstract

The article analyzes the policy of the extraordinary central government body, the Committee for the operational management of the national economy of the USSR, aimed at containing the crisis of the Soviet Union’s economy. In the course of his work, contradictions emerged in the positions of sovereign and then independent republics, which have a significant impact on the mutual relations of countries in the post-soviet space to this day. The main tasks of the Committee was the adjustment of the fuel and energy complex and the overcoming of food shortages. To solve them, both command-administrative and market methods were used, but in order to achieve the desired result, it was necessary to bridge the gap in economic ties between the republics. The results of the study showed that, despite some successes in this direction, it was not possible to achieve the restoration of the unity of the national economic complex, primarily because of the position of the political leadership of Ukraine and the RSFSR.