Soviet economic facts 1917 - 1970

After a relatively limited amount of experience of using Soviet statistical sources I began to feel that a considerable waste of time was frequently involved in searching for data because one often could not know what particular volume to consult. This is primarily because of the practice of giving not a complete series for, say, the ten years preceding the date of publication, but only statistics from selected past years Compiling a series for a period of years, therefore, frequently involves reference to several volumes. In addition, the general statistical annuals often need to be supplemented by use of specialised statistical volumes on particular sectors of the economy or other topics. Most of the volumes are also quite unnecessarily repetitious and therefore bulky, making data more difficult to find quickly. For these reasons I started to think about producing one compact volume which would contain the most used and useful data from the whole range of Soviet statistical volumes available, and thus would give as nearly as possible complete annual series.

Such a volume has an obvious function of making Soviet statistical material more accessible to those who read no Russian. Only the small pocket books, The USSR in Figures, are regularly published in English in Moscow; but they have rather limited data, and there are presumably some users or potential users of Soviet statistics who are neither primarily Soviet experts nor Russian-reading. I also hope and think that this volume should be of considerable use to the specialist who does read Russian and could use the Soviet sources: they may not all be available easily, and in addition my aim has been to produce a book which will be a quicker and more convenient source, while having absolutely equivalent authenticity to the Soviet publications.