Soviet Employment Practices: Quotas and the Art of Reporting

Soviet employment policies often involved the assignment of multiple workers to tasks that a single person could complete. This article explores these practices and their implications, drawing on historical anecdotes and case studies.

Introduction to Soviet Employment Practices

During my training in the French Foreign Legion, one of the key lessons was to assign numerous personnel to a task that could be completed efficiently by a single individual. This was to instill discipline and uniformity in the Legion. Such practices were not unique to the Legion; they were prevalent in centrally controlled and dictatorial economies, such as the Soviet Union and its satellite states.

Central Control and Dictatorial Economies

In non-democratic economies, the state controlled the labor market and employment practices. For example, in Chile, during my 2004 visit, I was astonished to witness the intricate multi-step process required for a simple purchase of a lip balm. It involved note passing, pricing, and various clerical tasks, each handled by a different person, with a total of ten people involved where one could have sufficed. This inefficiency was not unique to Chile but was commonplace in centrally controlled economies.

The Soviet Experience

The Soviet Union, under the guise of full employment, often assigned numerous workers to tasks that a single person could manage. This was particularly evident in post-WWII Poland, where a factory manager was directed to nearly double the workforce following the war. This was done to ensure maximum production and employment, but it resulted in significant inefficiencies due to the lack of a proper economic incentive structure.

Case Study: Poles in Soviet Uzbekistan

One particularly interesting case involves Polish deportees working in Soviet Uzbekistan in the 1960s. Despite significant efforts to expand cotton production, the Soviet economy remained plagued by shortages. This was puzzling, given the substantial resources invested in the expansion.

It was not until the late 1980s, after the death of Soviet leader Dmitriy Ustinovich Brezhnev, that the truth was revealed. General Secretary Yuri Andropov, who had a background in intelligence, ordered satellite imagery of Uzbekistan to verify the extent of cotton cultivation. The photos revealed that the claims of vast cotton fields were exaggerated. The discrepancy, driven by the The Art of Reporting, was stark: it involved falsifying reports to meet unrealistic quotas set by the state.

Quotas and Work Ethic

The quota system in the Soviet Union was a complex mechanism designed to ensure continuous production and full employment. Workers were evaluated by the number of quotas they met. In many industries, the quota system was based on objective measures, but the process remained subjective due to the involvement of supervisors. This led to a system where workers had to be creative in their reporting to meet targets.

Personal Anecdotes and Insights

Personal experiences with the Soviet quota system provide valuable insights. For instance, my uncle, a prisoner in a Soviet labor camp, had a sympathetic guard who would give him cigarettes in recognition of meeting his quota. For a teenager, such small rewards stabilized his spirits during tumultuous times. This highlights the practical impact of the quota system on workers' morale and productivity.

Conclusion

The Soviet quota system and the practice of assigning multiple workers to single tasks have left a lasting impression on workers and historians alike. The system, while aiming for full employment and maximized productivity, often resulted in low work ethics and inefficiencies due to the lack of a market-driven incentive structure. Understanding these Soviet practices provides crucial context for the economic and social histories of the region.

For further reading, I recommend 'ISBN 978–0–300–18682–6', which offers in-depth analysis of these practices and their implications.