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The Private Sector in Soviet Agriculture by Karl-Eugen Wadekin provides a deep and meticulous analysis of a paradox within the Soviet economic system: the enduring role of private agricultural production in a system ostensibly built on complete collectivization. Through extensive research, Wadekin illustrates the complexities, contradictions, and shifting policies that have shaped the uneasy coexistence between state-controlled farming and privately cultivated plots. Despite decades of efforts to centralize agriculture under state and collective farms, the private sector remained indispensable, producing a significant share of essential foodstuffs, particularly vegetables, meat, and dairy products. The book exposes the ideological tensions and practical necessities that have forced Soviet planners to tolerate, and at times even encourage, private agricultural activity to sustain food supply and rural livelihoods.

Wadekin’s study stands out for its methodological rigor, overcoming the challenges posed by the Soviet Union’s reluctance to disclose comprehensive data on private production. By piecing together fragmented and often misleading official reports, he constructs a nuanced picture of how the private sector functions within and alongside the socialist economy. The book also examines the policy oscillations between repression and accommodation, reflecting broader debates on economic pragmatism versus ideological purity in Soviet governance. With its combination of historical depth and economic insight, The Private Sector in Soviet Agriculture remains a critical resource for scholars of Soviet economic history, comparative agriculture, and the persistent role of informal economies within planned systems.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1973.