Last refreshed at 0600GMT Friday The best five books on everything | 30 July 2010

Soviet Workers and the Collapse of Perestroika: The Soviet Labour Process and Gorbachev's Reforms

Donald Filtzer
Image of Soviet Workers and the Collapse of Perestroika: The Soviet Labour Process and Gorbachev's Reforms, 1985-1991 (Cambridge Russian, Soviet and Post-Soviet Studies)

You might not intuitively read a book about Soviet workers and labour law, but this book is compelling for anyone who is interested in why the Soviet economy was in such difficulty, and how the political leaders struggled to change things within the limits of the prevailing Soviet ideology. Why are there problems in the economy? Because individuals are acting in a particular way. A fixed salary, targets you pretend to meet, no incentive – no wonder!