ABSTRACT
The idea that Soviet perestroika will not succeed without a radical reform of Soviet agrarian policy became painfully self-evident in 1989. 1 Rationing, food shortages, strikes, and increases in the percentage of family income that many families spend on food are all widespread phenomena in the Soviet Union today. At the same time, Soviet income distribution is worsening, inflation in retail prices reached new heights during the first six months of 1989, and there is a growing belief among a great portion of the Soviet population that the cooperative movement is corrupt. 2 Under these conditions, this paper addresses the issue of how Hungarian agricultural experience can provide insight into ways the Soviet Union can solve its agricultural problems.
