“Andropov’s reforms” and the search for ways to overcome the crisis: the role of team work in the first half of 1980s

The author of the paper analyses the brigade contract as a tool of the economic experiment in the USSR in 1984 aimed at stimulating labour productivity in the context of the systemic crisis of the planned economy. The reform faced institutional barriers: resistance from the administration, a weak regulatory framework, and limited motivation from labour collectives. The author emphasizes that the experience of 1984 demonstrates the contradictory consequences of attempts to modernize the Soviet economic model combining short-term achievements with worsening social tensions. The work actualizes the discussion about the “missed chances” of Soviet management and the importance of historical experience for modern research on alternative forms of labour organization.