How did the economy of the Soviet Union work?
The economy of the Soviet Union was based on a system of state ownership and administrative planning. The Soviet Union created the modern world’s first centrally planned economy. The first major project of economic planning was the GOELRO plan, which was introduced in 1920 and basically fulfilled by 1931. It included construction of a network of 30 regional power plants, including ten large hydroelectric power plants, and numerous electric-powered large industrial enterprises. The GOELRO Plan became the prototype for subsequent Soviet five-year plans. From 1928 to 1991 the entire course of the economy was guided by a series of Five-Year Plans. The nation became among the world’s three top manufacturers of a large number of basic and heavy industrial products, but lagged far behind in the output of light industrial production and consumer durables. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, all but a handful of the 15 former Soviet republics have dismantled their Soviet-style ec
