The collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic at the end of the 1980's was conceived as a victory for capitalist democracy. Vincent Barnett provides the first comprehensive account of the historical development of Russian and Soviet economic thought across the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and considers the future for Russian economics in the twenty-first century.

Utilizing an extensive range of historical material and sources this book examines the different strands of thought that have been present including classical, neoclassical, historical, socialist, liberal and Marxian schools. Vincent Barnett traces the influence the different schools of thought exerted and the impact their ideas had on shaping policies. This book contains a detailed time line of the most significant works published by Russian economists and analyzes the effects historical discontinuities have had on the institutional structure of Russian economics as a discipline.

This book will prove essential to all those interested in economic history and the evolution of Russian economic thought.