Resources on transition

This page presents a wide range of resources that have contributed to my interest in the post-Soviet transition from communism to capitalism. I intend to collate and highlight exceptional portrayals of the transition process in the former Soviet Union and other communist countries. 
The Transition Lectures

For my four part lecture series on transition, see here.
Traumazone, by Adam Curtis
This collection of BBC archival footage provides a fascinating and absorbing insight into how life changed for ordinary citizens of the Soviet Union, from 1985 through 1999.

For more see here, and I also recommend Chris Snowdon’s review.

Commanding Heights, PBS
A 6 hour documentary based on Daniel Yergin and Joseph Stanislaw’s classic book. View them in sequence in the playlist below:

Other documentaries 
The Second Russian Revolution, BBC – According to the show notes, “The acclaimed documentary series from 1991 that examined political in-fighting in the Soviet Union and the battle for perestroika.”

Life in Moscow, 1986 – A look at life in Russia featuring several expats. Available on YouTube:

 

Bald and Bankrupt – a British vlogger who travels around the former Soviet Union providing a glimpse at the legacy of communism. I particularly liked this video, filmed one day before the Russian invasion of Ukraine:

For others see Romania.

Short video
Unknown footage – via Soviet Visuals on X/Twitter

https://x.com/i/status/1765620007029891295

For more see Berlin.

Movies
Good Bye Lenin! (2003) – Set in East Berlin, a woman falls into a coma and misses the fall of the Berlin Wall. When she awakens her children don’t want to shock her, and attempt to screen the economic changes occurring outside the bedroom window. This is an entertaining but poignant demonstration of the transition process and alternative economic systems.

The Lives of Others (2006) – An enthralling depiction of the East German Stasi, with the main character questioning the implementation of his ideals whilst spying on a playwright. There’s no neat ideological conclusion, but a challenging portrayal of espionage.

Leviathan (2014) – A wonderfully presented tale of eminent domain and the bureaucracy and corruption that come with it. I was expecting a battle between man and the state, but it was more of a Vodka-fuelled truel than a duel. (Also contains a fascinating side plot with regard to how it was funded.)

Comments above are taken from my Shin Film List.

Podcasts
The Rest is History has a good, 4 part series on transition. Links to each episode are here:

  1. Young Putin, the KGB and the Soviet Union, March 7th 2022
  2. The Fall of the Soviet Union, March 8th 2022
  3. Yeltsin, Economic Chaos and President Putin, March 9th 2022
  4. Putin’s Russia, March 10th 2022

Here are some other podcast recommendations:

  • #349 – Bhaskar Sunkara: The Case for Socialism, Lex Fridman podcast
    • Bhasker calls himself a “democratic socialist” but I maintain that this is an aspirational label rather than one that can be  understood in theory or demonstrated in practice. While the left attempt to grapple with their history of actually-existing-socialism, I think it is wise to go with capitalism, which is the only system that seems to work so far.  It’s also notable that Bhaskar’s magazine, The Jacobin, is well designed and popular, but routinely misrepresents free market economics and is geared towards activism rather than serious enquiry.
  • Ep. 7: Eric Mack — Why Not Socialism?, The Curious Task, September 18th 2009
    • Regardless of collectivist aspirations, this interview recognises that the essence of socialism is a centrally planned economy. Mack uses camping trips as a model of “the good society” but I think this suffers from three flaws. When it comes to a camping trip, the participants already know each other; everyone has consented to participate; and there’s no need to create resources (camping trips are primarily about consumption rather than production. If you want to drink a beer, you bring it with you having paid for it with previously expended labour). This reveals that most socialist visions are utopian and don’t solve the real world problems of how to create human flourishing in an extended social order. Ultimately, socialism is a collectivist philosophy that requires subjection of the individual to the whole. Therefore it should be rejected by anyone whose fundamental concern is the dignity and sanctity of the individual.
  • The Road to Socialism and Back — Peter Boettke & Rosolino Candela, Hayek Program Podcast, August 23rd 2023
    • This interview makes clear that the main tragedy of socialism is that it is unintended. The results are inconsistent with the stated goals of the advocates, implying the problem is an intellectual one. Hence the need for scholarly enquiry and public education. They also recognise that a centrally planned economy may function better than a market economy during times of war, but this should not be the model. After all, a stable peace is as important a social objective as greater wealth. This interview also captures Pete Boettke’s biggest contribution to economics:  in the absence of the “three P’s” of property, prices, and profit and loss you have to rely on political power to allocate resources. Therefore, a socialist society will be riddled with rent-seeking and the other inefficiencies associated with “politics without romance“, giving rise to the nomenklatura and priviledge. He also makes the point that prices are embedded in institutions, and institutions are embedded in broader social relations. We therefore need to understand law, politics and society, as a coherent social science. Finally, I like the point made that a free market economy lets ordinary people do extraordinary things. It doesn’t rely on extra ordinary people controlling and directing a vast bureaucracy.
  • Ep. 325, Twilight of the Soviet Union
    • Memoir of a British Journalist in Moscow, Cold War Conversations – an interview with a Morning Star journalist who provides a sympathetic view on life under communism.
  • #301 – Jack Barsky: KGB Spy, Lex Fridman podcast
    • A fascinating background on Cold War intelligence services.
Online courses
Here are some recommended online courses and videos:

Here is a webinar with Howard Beatty on why free markets outperform central planning:

Photos
Personal accounts
Here is a profile of Hillsdale professor Ivan Pongracic:

Also:

Little Oranges and Big Boots: Memories from My Childhood in Communist Romania” by Radu Nechita, FEE, May 19th 2019

Written ethnography
Here are some recommended books that uncover the impact of transition on the daily life of ordinary people:

  • The unmaking of Soviet life: Everyday economies after socialism, by Caroline Humphrey, 2002
  • Domesticating revolution: From socialist reform to ambivalent transition in a Bulgarian Village, by Gerald Creed, 2007
  • Market dreams: Gender, class and capitalism in the Czech Republic, by Elaine Weiner, 2007
  • Crisis and the everyday in post-socialist Moscow, by Olga Shevchenko, 2008
  • Getting by in postsocialist Romania: Labor, the body, and working-class culture, by David Kideckel, 2008
  • Needed by nobody: Homelessness and mumanness in post-socialist Russia, by Tova Hojdestrand, 2009
  • Secondhand time: The last of the Soviets, by Svetlana Alexievich, 2013