Brezhnev-era chief price administrator who oversaw every official price in the USSR for 11 years
The man who set every price in the USSR for 11 years left behind a memoir titled The Magic of Numbers, or Russia Unclaimed.
As Chairman of the USSR State Committee for Prices (Goskomtsen) from 1975 to 1986, Nikolai Glushkov oversaw the entire system of wholesale and retail prices in the Soviet command economy for over a decade. Born into a peasant family in Vyatka Governorate, he began working as a village bookkeeper at age 14 and rose through financial management at the Norilsk mining-metallurgical combine, one of the largest Gulag-industrial complexes, before serving in the Krasnoyarsk Sovnarkhoz and as Deputy Minister of Non-Ferrous Metallurgy. His tenure at Goskomtsen coincided with the 'era of stagnation,' when official prices remained frozen for decades while repressed inflation and chronic shortages accumulated, making the management of this contradiction a politically sensitive task. After retirement, his posthumously published memoir bore the title The Magic of Numbers, or Russia Unclaimed.
Activities and affiliations
Career Timeline
- 1932Bookkeeper, chemical-forestry producers' cooperative
- 1936–1940Senior accountant → chief accountant, consumer cooperatives system
- 1940–1944Senior auditor, Severonikel Combine; deputy chief accountant, Norilsk Combine
- 1944–1949Chief accountant → head of finance, Norilsk Mining-Metallurgical Combine
- 1949–1952Head of finance, Yeniseistroi Main Administration
- 1952–1957Director, Mining Administration, USSR Ministry of Non-Ferrous Metallurgy
- 1957–1963Department head → head of finance-economics → deputy chairman, Krasnoyarsk Sovnarkhoz
- 1963–1965First deputy chairman, Krasnoyarsk Sovnarkhoz
- 1966–1973Head of Main Planning-Economic Administration, USSR Ministry of Non-Ferrous Metallurgy
- 1973–1975Deputy Minister of Non-Ferrous Metallurgy of the USSR
- 1975–1986Chairman, USSR State Committee for Prices (Goskomtsen)
Retail price increases for non-essential goods, 1977–1983
During Glushkov’s tenure at the State Committee on Prices, the government repeatedly raised selected retail prices in response to shortages of consumer goods and black-market trading. On 5 January 1977, Pravda announced increases for rugs, silk goods, crystalware, books, tailoring, taxis, and air and sea travel. In a television appearance and newspaper interview that day, Glushkov, the committee’s chairman, said that price stability for most goods would continue, while selected increases reflected higher production costs and quality and were intended to encourage production and “normalize trade.” In March 1978, prices rose by 30–60 percent for jewelry, car repairs and parts, gasoline, coffee, chocolate, and imported alcoholic drinks, among other items. The July 1979 measures included increases of about 50 percent for jewelry, furs, and rugs, 18 percent for cars, and 25–45 percent for restaurant service in the evening. Glushkov called the measures “forced but necessary,” acknowledged that demand exceeded production, and again promised stable prices for essential goods. Prices on a range of goods rose by 25–30 percent in September 1981; in February 1983, increases covered building materials, household gas, and postal services. Historian Anna Ivanova describes the measures as part of a policy to withdraw excess cash from circulation. Yet shortages and demand for many goods persisted after the increases. The measures made purchases harder for lower-income consumers without sufficiently curbing the purchasing power of underground dealers, and they failed to account for regional differences in demand. As the official responsible for price policy, Glushkov’s public explanations reaffirmed the principle of stable prices while defending these selective increases.