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A leading American specialist on the Soviet Union and Russia reports on results of a massive (N = 33,869) nationwide survey of a random sample of the adult Russian population in 69 provinces and republics of the Russian Federation. The survey was administered during the three-week period preceding the elections of December 12, 1993. This article focuses on mass attitudes toward economic, political, and ethnic-national issues, exploring as well the demographic correlates of attitudes. The author concludes that the Russian population is highly receptive to moderate reform, but not to shock therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article compares the USSR's central planning experiences before 1965 and the U.S.' wartime planning. Historical comparison between the USSR's centrally planned and United States' market economy include periods when national ideologies yielded to insistent political and economic demands. War forced the U.S. to use central controls, and the USSR's lackluster economic performance under Marxism caused markets to appear weak. Throughout its history, changes were introduced into the USSR's economy by central control institutions. The American movement away from central planning after 2nd World War is attributed to business's intense opposition. Even when at war, the U.S. relied on industry for personal to staff its control institutions, thus influencing their form and function and making centralization a transitory event.