UNKNOWN REFORM: TRANSFORMATION ORGANIZATION AND FINANCIAL FOUNDATIONS OF SOVIET UNIONS AT THE END 80TH AND LONG-TERM EFFECTS

Shershukov Alexander Vladimirovich

The article explores a little-studied aspect of late Soviet history - the profound reorganization of the All-Russian Central Council of Trade Unions, carried out in 1987-1990. Based on a comprehensive analysis of the transcripts of congresses and plenums, decisions of the governing bodies of trade unions, as well as budget reports, the process of developing and implementing a package of radical measures aimed at decentralizing financial flows, reducing the management staff and redistributing powers is being reconstructed. The author concludes that these reforms, motivated by the desire to overcome bureaucratization and formalism in the context of perestroika, led to a systemic disintegration of the trade union vertical, a sharp reduction in its financial and human resources. This weakened the ability of trade unions to perform a stabilizing function during the growing socio-economic crisis on the eve of the mass strikes of 1989-1991. The legacy of these transformations, perceived by the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia in the form of confederate principles of construction and financial regulations, continues to have a significant impact on the structural weakness and limited effectiveness of the modern Russian trade union movement.

Keywords:All-Russian Central Council of Trade Unions, trade unions of the USSR, perestroika, management reform, decentralization, trade union budget, organizational structure, social crisis, institutional legacy