Archive Report
Archive Report
Kremlin's Preoccupation with Consumers
Debate Over Economic Goals at Party Congress
The political infighting taking place as the Soviet Communist Party prepares to open its 24th Congress in Moscow on March 30 is thought by experts to center on the question of how much to concede to Russia's restive consumers. That the Party Congress has been delayed a full year1 indicates Kremlin planners have had great difficulty in laying out the ninth Five Year Plan (1971–75) for the development of the Russian economy. Draft directives of the plan were announced in Moscow on Feb. 14 and are destined to be approved by the Congress. While the stamp of consent is usually automatic, the plan's emphasis on the need to raise living standards and augment the output ...