Chief economic theorist of late perestroika, architect of the 'regulated market' between radical reformers and conservative planners
"If we win on the financial front, we shall win everything" — Lenin, a phrase Abalkin was fond of quoting
Soviet political economist. As director of the Institute of Economics (1986) he built perestroika's intellectual groundwork, then served as chairman of the State Commission for Economic Reform and Deputy Prime Minister (1989–1990). His 'regulated market economy' called for phased marketization under state control, contrasting with Shatalin's 500-Day shock therapy. The program was sent back by the Supreme Soviet in May 1990, and once Gorbachev backed Shatalin's radical plan, the Ryzhkov government's collapse ended Abalkin's deputy premiership in early 1991. After the collapse, as editor of Voprosy Ekonomiki, he founded a Russian school of socio-economic thought, opposing Yeltsin's liberalization and advocating a Chinese-style model.
Activities and affiliations
Career Timeline
- 1952–1958Teacher and deputy director at Agricultural Technicum in Gusev, Kaliningrad Oblast
- 1958–1966Postgraduate at Moscow State Economic Institute; assistant, docent, professor at Plekhanov Institute
- 1966–1976Chair of Political Economy at the Plekhanov Institute of National Economy
- 1976–1985Chair of Political Economy at the Academy of Social Sciences, CPSU Central Committee
- 1984 / 1987Corresponding member, then full academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences
- 1986–1989Director of the Institute of Economics, USSR Academy of Sciences (first term)
- 1989–1990Chairman of the State Commission on Economic Reform and Deputy Chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers
- 1990–1991Member of the CPSU Central Committee
- 1991.5–12Adviser to the President of the USSR
- 1991–2005Director of the Institute of Economics, Academy of Sciences / Russian Academy of Sciences (second term)
- 1992–2011Editor-in-chief of Voprosy Ekonomiki
Related historical events
- 1985–1991Perestroika and GlasnostDesigner of the regulated marketHe designed a regulated-market line between the radicals and the conservatives.
- 1988–1990The Nineteenth Party Conference and the First Contested ElectionsEconomist who criticized the acceleration lineAt the 1988 conference, he openly criticized Gorbachev's acceleration line.
- 1987–1991The Economic Reform Debate and the 500 Days ProgrammeAs deputy premier, designed the government's reform plan.
The 19th Party Conference of 1988: Challenging Acceleration and Defining an Independent Line
At the 19th All-Union Party Conference (28 June – 1 July 1988), Abalkin attracted attention by openly criticizing Gorbachev's 'acceleration' (uskoreniye) line. He argued that the Soviet economy needed not faster growth but structural reorganization: a shift in investment priorities, expansion of the consumer sector, and fundamental reform of the administrative-command system. He then questioned Gorbachev's proposal to institutionalize the merging of party and state posts, warning that having party secretaries simultaneously serve as soviet chairs would deepen the apparatus's administrative grip and undermine the purpose of political reform. With this speech, Abalkin emerged as the most influential academic voice for a third way within the perestroika camp: gradualism toward a 'regulated market economy,' distinct from both shock therapy and inertial defense of planning. His appointment a year later as chairman of the State Commission for Economic Reform and deputy prime minister reflected Gorbachev's confidence in this line, but the tensions aired at the conference already foreshadowed the factional struggles within the government over the pace and depth of reform.