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Sergei Guriev in conversation with Jonathan Charles: The Great Soviet Experiment - the Lessons from 1917-91

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The Great Soviet Experiment - the Lessons from 1917-91

Chief Economist of the EBRD Sergei Guriev, in conversation with Jonathan Charles.

The 1917 Revolution launched one of the greatest experiments in economic history. The Soviet government abolished private property, replaced markets with planning and drastically reduced international trade. Renowned Russian economist Sergei Guriev will talk about recent research using new data to evaluate the economic outcomes of the 1917-1991 journey. In particular, he will focus on two of its key episodes:  the interwar economic development that awed many outside observers and the last few years of the Soviet system when - unlike Deng's China – the Soviet Union failed to reform itself and went bankrupt.

As the EBRD’s Chief Economist, Sergei Guriev is responsible for advising the President and other senior members of the Bank’s management team on economic issues of strategic or operational relevance pertaining to the EBRD region. 

Sergei Guriev received his Dr. Sc. (habilitation degree) in Economics (2002) and PhD in Applied Math from the Russian Academy of Science (1994), and M.Sc. Summa Cum Laude from the Moscow Institute of Physics in Technology (1993). In 1997-98, Dr. Guriev visited the Department of Economics at M.I.T. for a one-year post-doctoral placement, and in 2003-2004, the Department of Economics at Princeton University as a Visiting Assistant Professor. In 2004-13, Dr. Guriev was a tenured professor of economics and rector of the New Economic School in Moscow. In 2013, he was appointed a tenured professor of economics at Sciences Po, Paris

Dr. Guriev’s research interests include contract theory, corporate governance, political economics and labour mobility. Dr. Guriev has published in international refereed journals including American Economic Review, Review of Economic Studies, Journal of European Economic Association, Journal of   Economic Perspectives and American Political Science Review. READ MORE

Managing Director, Communications
Jonathan Charles is the Managing Director of the Communications department at the EBRD and is a member of the Bank’s Executive Committee.

Jonathan came to the Bank in 2011 after a long and distinguished career at the BBC, winning several awards for his journalism. As a BBC presenter and foreign correspondent, he has appeared on BBC1 and BBC World News television, as well as the BBC’s main radio channels.

His specialist areas include economics, Russia, the EU and international diplomacy; he has a keen interest in issues surrounding the single currency.

He established television operations for the BBC in Brussels and Frankfurt, and operated in many conflict zones throughout the world. He holds an MA (Oxon) and BA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Oriel College, Oxford University.

This event will later be available on the EBRD Pocket Economics podcast.