1955 Gosplan reform: developing new model of economic planning

Reform of the State Planning Committee of the Council of Ministers of the USSR (Gosplan) in 1955 was the first reform of the planning in the post-Stalin period. In the mid-1950s. was a transition from the traditional, ''monostructural'' planning model to a new model based on the distribution of functions of prospective and current planning, operational management of economy between different authorities. The Soviet theory of planning of the Gosplan reform in 1955 determined the start of the sixth stage of development of planning in the USSR (May 1955 - March 1965). In historiography there is only a general idea of the State Planning Reform in 1955. In Soviet and Russian history books the Gosplan reform in 1955 did not become the subject of a special comprehensive study. In foreign historiography prevalent are general remarks on the nature of the reorganization of the State Planning Commission in 1955. The study of the reform includes both administrative economic and political aspects. Reform of Gosplan acted in response to the systemic crisis of the Soviet economy in 1955-1956. the reform became the first institutional reform initiated by N.S. Khrushchev, during his ''emergence as a key figure in the collective leadership'' (February 1955 - May 1957). The sources for study were archival documents from the Council of Ministers of the USSR and the USSR State Planning Committee on the development of the reform of Gosplan in the first half of 1955. A valuable source for understanding the mechanism of the development of a new planning model for the first half of 1955 is a document by Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR N.A. Bulganin and Head of the Council of Ministers of the USSR A.V. Korobov, ''Comments on the draft Resolution ''On Restructuring of the USSR State Planning Committee and Measures to Improve State Planning''. The reform of Gosplan in 1955 was objective, and was a response to the crisis of the Soviet economy and the need to ''find'' new planning practices. New archival documents show that the decision to divide the State Planning Committee of the USSR into two planning authorities was not inherent and took shape gradually. But the reform was not a strictly controlled process in line with the scientific strategy of the CPSU, and had an imprint of the struggle in the political leadership, and therefore accumulated spontaneous and chaotic processes in the social and economic policy of 1955-1956. Evaluating the effectiveness of the State Planning Commission reform in 1955 requires further research based on archival documents.

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