Economist Abalkin Leonid Ivanovich: biography, ideas, photo

Under the Soviet Union Abalkin Leonid Ivanovich was a famous economist. He often appeared on television, agitating for the restructuring of the economy of the USSR, so his face was familiar even to ordinary inhabitants. Even then it was possible to say that Leonid Abalkin is a liberal economist. He supported the Kosygin reform and the planned-market economy on the Chinese model. This was the reason for accusations against him from the side of the Marxist Orthodox after the Prague Spring. Today, Abalkin Leonid was undeservedly forgotten. But he remains one of the outstanding scientists of the outgoing era, and his economic views are still interesting.

Origin

The future famous scientist was born in 1930 in Moscow. By profession his parents were accountants. Father's family came from Samara. Ivan Abalkin had two brothers and seven sisters. He was an inspector of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army and served in the Chapayev Division. In the twenties, he moved to Moscow, where he met his future wife. Ivan Abalkin's brother Nikolai became quite famous. He gradually became a famous journalist and corresponded with many cultural figures. In the newspaper Pravda, he began as an editor and reached a member of the editorial board and head of the literary department. The elder brother of Leonid Ivanovich was also a well-known person and made a significant contribution to the development of the sphere of education. During the Great Patriotic War, he served in the air defense, then graduated from the Moscow Regional Institute of Culture. Subsequently, he defended his Ph.D. thesis in it.

Abalkin Leonid Ivanovich: biography

When the war broke out, the family of the future economist lived in Moscow. Father Leonid Ivanovich immediately went to the fountain as a volunteer when he learned of the formation of the militia. Then he moved to the regular army. As a civilian he was an accountant, then in the war he was placed in the Separate Artillery Air Defense Division as the head of the finance department.

Abalkin Leonid Ivanovich, together with his mother, was evacuated to Sverdlovsk. Here they lived for two years, having experienced all the hardships of the life of the migrant. They had no electricity, no heat, and sometimes no food. In Sverdlovsk Leonid continues to study, devoting all his free time to reading classical Russian literature.

In 1943, the father of the future economist was assigned a room in a barracks in Ulyanovsk, and the family moved to him. Then he was transferred to the city of Zhlobin. Here the family had to live in a simple dug-out. And in school, Leonid always carried a chair with him, because the furniture in it did not survive. The city was badly damaged by shelling.

After the war Abalkin Leonid Ivanovich, whose family returned to Moscow, went to the tenth grade. Already in the capital Leonid graduated from high school. Here the family lived in a tiny communal apartment, and for several months behind the curtain. Until retirement Ivan Abalkin continued to work in the Ministry of Agriculture.

Study

Abalkin graduated from the Moscow Institute of National Economy in 1952. A few years later he became deputy director of the technical school. Abalkin actively participated in the public life of the city and was looking for himself. In 1958, he still decides to enter postgraduate studies at the Moscow State Economic Institute. Three years later he completed his Ph.D. thesis. During his studies he met with such outstanding scientists as Birman and Kamenitzer. Abalkin remained a teacher at his institute, which by that time was combined with the Moscow University of National Economy. In 1966 he became the head of the department of political economy. Then he defended his doctoral dissertation on the regulation of the socialist economy. In the years 1976-1985. Was the head of the department of political economy of the Academy of Social Sciences. In 1984 he was elected a corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences. The period of perestroika became the peak of the scientific and professional career of the scientist. He became known far beyond academia.

A family

It was at the institute that Abalkin met his future wife - Anna Satarov. Since the brother of Leonid Ivanovich was demobilized just this year from the army, there was nowhere to live young. Therefore, he began teaching at the technical school in the city of Gusev in the Kaliningrad region, where the family was given a one-room apartment. However, Abalkin continued to dream of continuing his studies and scientific work. In 1953, the couple had their first son.

As a politician

Abalkin Leonid in 1986 headed the Institute of Economics of the USSR, in 1987 became a member of the Academy of Sciences. At the conference of the CPSU in 1988, he criticized the concept of acceleration, but for structural restructuring of the economy. A year later he became a people's deputy. However, after a few months, Abalkin resigned, as he was appointed to the post of chairman of the Council of Ministers. In the government, he headed the commission for economic reform. Was an adviser to Gorbachev. During the period of perestroika, Abalkin criticized the reforms in the country. In the last years of his life he was the scientific leader at the Institute of Economics of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the head of the department of social and economic problems at Moscow University.

Awards and Prizes

Abalkin Leonid was a member of many associations and academies. He created the International Kondratyev Foundation and headed it. Abalkin was a member of the International Union of Economists. During his life he received many awards, including the Order of Friendship of Peoples. Also among them:

• Order of Merit for the Fatherland III and IV degree and Honor.
• Medals "Veteran of Labor", "For contribution to the development of entrepreneurship", "2000 outstanding people of the XX century".
• The Kondratiev Prize.
• Honorary Diploma of the Presidium of the RSFSR.
• Laureate of the "Russian of the Year" award 2005.

Abalkin Leonid Ivanovich: economic views

Ever since his Ph.D. thesis, he was convinced that the key to overcoming the crisis is a radical renewal of economic relations. Freedom of management, in his opinion, is a source of public wealth and is transformed into additional financial resources. He did not believe in the acceleration of the growth rate under Gorbachev and spoke of the irreversibility of the soon resignation of the government. And this forecast strikes with its striking accuracy. The USSR really soon ceased to exist, as the government failed to take measures to stabilize the economy.

Abalkin was preparing the concept of restructuring the entire system of public relations since the early 1980s. He considered it necessary to preserve and modify centralized management with the broad development of democratic principles in all spheres of life. In order to organize the course of reforms, Abalkin supervised the formation of the State Commission. It included outstanding scientists of his time. The features of the new system of economy, ways of solving the arising problems were determined. For one and a half year in the government Abalkin managed to develop a framework of reform for creation of the mixed economy. In this period, the first joint-stock companies, enterprises of various forms of ownership and farming are emerging.

However, there was a shift in public consciousness, and people advocated a radical renewal of all structures. And Abalkin had to leave the political scene.

Scientific works

Outstanding economist Abalkin Leonid Ivanovich, whose bibliography includes more than 400 works, devoted his entire life to research. He independently wrote 15 monographs. His main interest was the development of mechanisms for the transformation first of the USSR, and then of Russia. He was a famous specialist in the field of methodology of science, problems of economic policy and economic mechanisms. Among his most famous works are the following:

• "In the grip of a crisis."
• "Notes on Russian Entrepreneurship".
• "Zigzags of fate: Disappointment and hope."
• "Pending changes, or the Lost Year."
• "The course of the transition economy."
• "Choice for Russia."

Also Leonid Abalkin is the author of many articles. Since 1992 he was the editor-in-chief of the well-known magazine "Voprosy ekonomiki".

Hobbies and hobbies

All his life, except for the war period, Abalkin spent in Moscow. He continued his scientific activity until his death in 2011. The most important hobby of Leonid Ivanovich was chess.

He learned to play them at a young age. Abalkin was a candidate for master of sports for them and Honorary Chairman of the International Association of Chess Veterans. He was interested in the history of Russia. Also Abalkin liked to engage in gardening.