Keynes, Russian Economic Thought, and Contemporary Policy

This paper extends a long tradition of Western analyses of Russian economic thought on Keynes, updating the story through the period that followed the global financial crisis of 2007-2008. We survey contemporary views of Keynesianism by mainstream and traditionalist economists and consider the theoretical and ideological motivations for a domesticated variant of Keynesianism as a “third way,” bridging Western economics and Soviet political economy. As such, this paper provides a survey of the shift in political economy that underpins recent pivot from market liberalism to targeted government management as a solution to Russian economic stagnation. We conclude that it would be an exaggeration to declare that the latest transformation of Russian economic policy ‘Keynesian.’