Did American Capitalism Basically Build Soviet Communism?

One of the greatest threats to Western democracy and capitalist economics over the past century would be the existence of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. This regime dominated military and foreign policy for many nations from 1917 to 1991. This system based on Marxist ideology brought an empire mired in feudalism to its knees and propelled a nation into the twentieth century. Within a decade after a revolution and civil war, the Soviet Union began to rival top tier nations for economic and military power. How did this parachronism of twentieth century Europe so rapidly propel itself forward to meet and match its neighbors? This becomes the leading question of this research journey.

The focus of this research will center on an ironic twist to the potential cause. Did basic American capitalism stabilize, then propel this young and tenuous Soviet Union forward to compete with the world’s top economies? To answer this question, the targets and target dates of research must be determined. The timeframe for this effort will cover a decade of work from 1922 to 1932. This period begins with the end of the Russian Civil War and then ends with the conclusion of Joseph Stalin’s first Five Year Plan and official recognition by the United States. Industrialists and corporations such as Ford Motor Company, General Electric, Westinghouse, Occidental Petroleum, RCA, Averill Harriman, architect Albert Kahn, and others serve as the targets of American movement eastward. These particular corporations provide historical archives, which offer primary source information in the form of contracts, communications, and photographs from their involvements in the USSR. The individuals provide memoirs that offer firsthand accounts to decision making, observations, and analysis.

Other sources from the American side of the topic will include newspaper articles from leading papers such as the New York Times. Records from Amtorg, a foreign investment banking corporation, provide the financial link between these American interests and the Soviet Union. As the saying goes, “follow the money”.

Once this connection is established, the trace will continue to the USSR. How in depth will the Soviet research be? It will be limited just in availability of access. The Soviet Union published economic data during this period to the world. Joseph Stalin’s memoirs and speeches also document economic data during this period. The question is whether this information will be completely reliable due to documented bias against the West and for their own Soviet system. To bolster the reliability, data from Western banks, investment firms, and governments will be compared to the Soviet data.

Having a solid, diverse slate of sources and data will provide a sound foundation for the direction of this research. Economic, political, and government sources through Western and Marxist historical and historiographical research will help alleviate concerns over singular bias and reliability. This method will create a better argument and case for a conclusion to this research.

Questions to be answered in this research:

• To what extent did US corporations aid the Soviet economy?
• What motivated American investment in an ideologically hostile regime?
• What was the overall financial effect of US aid to the Soviet economy?
• Could the Soviet economy manage to stabilize itself without US aid?
• Did the Soviets sacrifice their own ideology to receive aid from the US and private corporations?
• Was this ideological hypocrisy? And was it willing and intentional?

The goal for this project is to research, analyze, and interpret this data to answer these questions in order to draw a solid, sound conclusion on American involvement with the economic formation of the Soviet Union. Previous research and knowledge of the Soviet Union and presently Russia provide a foundation of experience to begin this research. Basic knowledge of the Russian language or the means of translation will assist the foreign component of the project. The interest of Russia and the Soviet Union through an expanded personal library provides the background for this research to be a foundation for a future post-doctoral agenda.

This research could potentially lead to further discussion and analysis along two lines of thought. One thought leads to the irony of the Soviet Marxist system owing its existence to the American capitalist system. The other thought would be how the US created a monster that led to decades of military, economic, and political anxiety. Was there an actual winner? And who did actually win? Did this foreign investment buoy American corporations to remain afloat during the Great Depression? Did Stalin hide the fact the Soviet Union received this aid and investment from their ideological enemy? The hope upon completion of this research project is that it opens the door for a continuation of research and analysis on this topic.