THEORETICAL ANALYSIS OF THE EVOLUTION OF MONETARY SYSTEMS OF RUSSIA IN EXTREME MILITARY-POLITICAL CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE FIRST HALF OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY (IN CONNECTION WITH THE 80TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BEGINNING OF THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR)

The author of the article, addressed to those who teach and study in higher education economic theory, the history of economic thought and the socio-economic history of Russia, proceeds from the premise that changes in the socio-economic system of the country during the period of change in the dominant technological order actualize the development of the theory of money and the study of various stages of historical evolution of the domestic monetary economy (Russian monetary systems). In this context, an analysis of those periods of this evolution in the first half of the twentieth century, when the credit ruble becomes an extraordinary resource of the «war economy», unfolds. The article also examines the peculiarities of monetary circulation during the operation of the gold standard system and during the period of gold «leaving» to the state reserve fund. The author puts forward a hypothesis according to which the changes taking place in the monetary system in connection with the demonetization of gold are the accumulation of prerequisites for the transition to a post-industrial economic system. Inclusion in the analysis of the events of the global military-political history of 1914–1917 and 1941–1945, i.e. events of the First and Second World Wars, helps to reveal the real basis on which a special type of economic relations was formed — the phenomenon of «war economy». The article identifies the key factors of instability in the twentieth century — industrial, monetary and world crises. The study of the peculiarities of the development of the crisis in peacetime and in the conditions of a «military-inflationary economy» in the works of prominent Russian economists deepens the understanding of the structural deformation of the national economy. It is shown that the «price revolution», which characterizes the explosive growth of inflation, has become a vivid manifestation of the world economic instability during the development of extreme military-political events in Russia and in the countries of Western Europe. Attention is drawn to the fact that the «price revolution» in the conjuncture theory of M.I. Tugan-Baranovsky and the works of Z.S. Katsenelenbaum was considered as a function of qualitative changes that took place in the economic system as a result of the expansion of the sphere of money circulation during the transition from natural production to industrial production. The «price revolution» manifested itself with the greatest force in the conditions of the «war economy». The destruction of the national economy was accompanied by the development of «golden» inflation, indicating a chronic commodity deficit. The author argues that the size of the accumulation of gold in 1920–1945, the emergence of large banks — custodians of the gold and foreign exchange reserves of the countries — members of the monetary unions — largely influenced the results of the competition between the three leading currencies (franc, pound and dollar), claiming to be the world leader. The conclusion is argued that the accumulation of gold and foreign exchange reserves in the conditions of the «war economy» accelerated the formation of a new monetary and financial «map» of the world in the second half of the twentieth century.

Shortageflation 3.0: War economy – State socialism – Pandemic crisis

The crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic has prompted governments and central banks to take unorthodox measures aimed at protecting the standard of living of people and sustaining the production and service activities of companies. The policy of aggressively increasing the supply of money has entailed a significant rise in the budget deficit and public debt. It is important to consider the extent of its impact on the escalation of inflation processes and to formulate suggestions regarding the economic policy. Inflation is already higher than the official indicators show it, because it is partly suppressed. The increase in the general price level does not fully reflect the actual inflation rate. We are dealing with shortageflation – the simultaneous occurrence of price inflation and repressed inflation accompanied by shortages. It is methodologically interesting to compare this current phenomenon, 3.0, with the suppression of inflation in the war economy, 1.0, and in the economies of state socialism, 2.0. Such comparisons highlight not only the similarities of these processes but also the differences resulting from the specificity of responses of households and businesses. This paper discusses five channels of unloading excessive savings, indicating the most beneficial ones from the point of view of sustainable economic development in the post-pandemic future. It is particularly important to prompt the conversion of compulsory savings into voluntary savings, and at the same time, to stimulate the transformation of the inflationary monetary reserves into the effective demand expanding the use of existing production capacities and investments creating new capacities.

Shortageflation 3.0: War economy — state socialism—pandemic crisis

The crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic has prompted governments and central banks to take unorthodox measures aimed at protecting the standard of living of people and sustaining the production and service activities of companies. The policy of aggressively rising the supply of money has entailed a significant increase in the budget deficit and public debt. It is important to consider the extent of its impact on the escalation of inflation processes and to formulate suggestions regarding the economic policy. Inflation is already higher than the official indicators show it, because it is partly suppressed. The increase in the general price level does not fully reflect the actual inflation rate. We are dealing with shortageflation — the simultaneous occurrence of price inflation and repressed inflation accompanied by shortages. It is methodologically interesting to compare this current phenomenon, 3.0, with the suppression of inflation in the war economy, 1.0, and in the economies of state socialism, 2.0. Such comparisons highlight not only the similarities of these processes but also the differences resulting from the specificity of responses of households and businesses. This article discusses five channels of unloading excessive savings, indicating the most beneficial ones from the point of view of sustainable economic development in the post-pandemic future. It is particularly important to prompt the conversion of compulsory savings into voluntary ones and at the same time to stimulate the transformation of inflationary monetary reserves into the effective demand expanding the use of existing production capacities and investments in creating new capacities.

Shortageflation 3.0. Gospodarka wojenna – państwowy socjalizm – kryzys pandemiczny

The crisis caused by the pandemic has induced governments and central banks to undertake non-orthodox actions aimed at the protection of people’s living standards and the maintenance of production and service activities of enterprises. The policy of the aggressive rise in money supply has resulted in a considerable increase in budget deficits and foreign debts. In this context, it is important to seek an answer to the question how this can accelerate inflationary processes and to formulate proper suggestions addressed to economic policy. In fact, inflation now is higher than the official price indices because it is partly dampened. The rise in the general price level does not reflect fully the actual intensity of inflation. We have to do with a price and resource inflation, called shortageflation. Methodologically, it is interesting to compare this contemporary phenomenon (3.0) with inflation suppression in a war economy (1.0) and in the economies of real socialism (2.0). Such comparisons show some similarities of these processes but also significant differences due to the specific reactions of households and enterprises. The author discusses five channels of liquidating the excessive money resources and indicates the ways most advisable from the point of view of the sustainable development in the post-pandemic future. Especially important is to stimulate the transformation of a part of the inflationary money surplus into the market demand for goods and services which increases the utilization of the existing production potential and leads to investments which create new production capacities as well as the conversion of compulsory savings into voluntary savings.

Shortageflation 3.0: War economy – State socialism – Pandemic crisis

The crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic has prompted governments and central banks to take unorthodox measures aimed at protecting the standard of living of people and sustaining the production and service activities of companies. The policy of aggressively rising the supply of money has entailed a significant increase in the budget deficit and public debt. It is important to consider the extent of its impact on the escalation of inflation processes and to formulate suggestions regarding the economic policy. Inflation is already higher than the official indicators show it, because it is partly suppressed. The increase in the general price level does not fully reflect the actual inflation rate. We are dealing with shortageflation – the simultaneous occurrence of price inflation and repressed inflation accompanied by shortages. It is methodologically interesting to compare this current phenomenon, 3.0, with the suppression of inflation in the war economy, 1.0, and in the economies of state socialism, 2.0. Such comparisons highlight not only the similarities of these processes but also differences resulting from the specificity of responses of households and businesses. This article discusses five channels of unloading excessive savings, indicating the most beneficial ones from the point of view of sustainable economic development in the post-pandemic future. It is particularly important to prompt the conversion of compulsory savings into voluntary savings and at the same time to stimulate the transformation of the inflationary monetary reserves into the effective demand expanding the use of existing production capacities and investments creating new capacities.

Everybody's War

This book explores the history of health care in postcolonial state-making and the fragmentation of the health system in Syria during the conflict. It analyzes the role of international humanitarian law (IHL) in enabling attacks on health facilities and distinguishes the differences between humanitarian solutions and refugee populations’ expectations. It also describes the way in which humanitarian actors have fed the war economy. The book highlights the lived experience of siege in all its layers. It examines how humanitarian actors have become part of the information wars that have raged throughout the past ten years and how they have chosen to position themselves in the face of grave violations of IHL.

The Business of Conflict

This chapter presents an example of how humanitarian aid adapted the realities of the Syrian war. It examines the context of besiegement that reached populations under siege through utilizing the corruption mechanisms of informal networks and smugglers. It also describes how the humanitarian actors’ adaptations to the realities of besiegement, which caused the aid system to contribute to the war economy. The chapter discusses the provision of humanitarian aid by states as a substitute for meaningful foreign policy when healthcare provision was deeply political process steeped in the dynamics of the Syria conflict. It highlights a process of aid delivery that is intertwined with the endemic corruption of the war as a business model, which generated a form of entrepreneurial neutrality.

Balancing the Books and Staging Operas under Duress: Bolshoi Theater Management, Wartime Economy and State Sponsorship in 1941–1945

The article examines the financial history of the Bolshoi within USSR’s mobilized wartime cultural industry as an example of a cultural institution highly placed in the Stalinist establishment and symbolic canon. It explores the income-outcome flows, personnel management, the impact of evacuation, notably on Bolshoi’s hard capital, and relations with supervising authorities. The theater’s perceived importance within the war effort conditioned unshakable financial support, a non-market protective environment, and lenient administrative treatment, contrasting with logistical and personnel challenges which the house only partly mastered. This relative stability stands in contrast with the absence of strong leadership, as the director’s position was kept vacant in stark difference to most European opera theaters. The shock of 1941–1942 was absorbed with internal adjustment measures and external subventions, and the Bolshoi’s budgets swelled towards the end of the war, indicating inflation and the house’s “most-favored-opera status”. The stable and conservative management still showed shortcomings, which the state chose not to punish. The opera’s symbolic and prestige capital trumped quantitative efficiency, creating a haven in the war economy.