L. Nauka Publishing House, 1969, 439 p. The print run is 2,200. Price 2 rubles. 15 kopecks.

From the very first days of its existence, the Soviet state had to solve the most difficult tasks of developing economic, political, cultural and other ties with the countries of capitalism. The experience gained in this area by the young Republic of Soviets is of current scientific and political significance. Numerous studies are devoted to the economic relations of Soviet Russia with the countries of capital. However, most of the books and articles published so far have mainly analyzed the position of the bourgeois states in relation to Soviet Russia, and have provided relatively little or no insight into how the socialist State developed its foreign economic policy. The monograph of V. A. Shishkin, Doctor of Historical Sciences, a senior researcher at the Research Institute of the USSR Academy of Sciences, who is known to Soviet readers for his work on Czechoslovak-Soviet relations in the 1920s1 and a number of articles on Soviet foreign policy of the same period, largely eliminates this gap.

One of the main advantages of the book is that it covers simultaneously two sets of problems: V. I. Lenin's development of the basic principles of Soviet economic policy in relation to the capitalist world and the history of practical establishment of trade relations with a number of capitalist countries. The chronological period-from the celebration of the October Revolution to the period of diplomatic recognition of the USSR-was not chosen by chance.-

1 V. A. Shishki and I. V. Shishki. Czechoslovak-Soviet relations in 1918-1925, Moscow, 1962.

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The foundations of trade relations between Soviet Russia and Western countries were laid. The author takes into account the periodization accepted in Soviet literature, bringing the study of the problem up to the beginning of a temporary partial stabilization of capitalism and the de jure recognition of the Soviet Union, after which, of course, its foreign economic relations entered a new phase of development. A review of the events of 1924 would have meant setting up new problems, the solution of which was the subject of negotiations, struggles, and even acute conflicts between the USSR and a number of imperialist Powers in the subsequent period.

The study of Lenin's rich heritage allowed the author to identify the methodology of the approach of the Soviet government headed by V. I. Lenin to the problems of foreign economic policy. The works of V. I. Lenin's associates, diplomats and prominent figures of the Soviet state, G. V. Chicherin and L. B. Krasin, V. V. Vorovsky, M. M. Litvinov, and G. M. Krzhizhanovsky, brought to the study an important element of concretization in the study of the entire set of problems. The author used a wide range of sources from Soviet archives (TSAOR, TSGANKH, TSAVMF, TSPA IML, TSAMVT, etc.), as well as archives of the GDR and Czechoslovak SSR. On the basis of these materials, he (for the first time in the scientific literature) was able to reveal in detail the mechanism for developing and implementing decisions on state policy in the foreign economic sphere, trace all phases of discussion of such important issues as the monopoly of foreign trade, the principles of concession policy, conditions for attracting foreign capital, etc.

V. A. Shishkin refutes the arguments of those who try to portray the monopoly of foreign trade almost as the result of voluntarism, a random combination of circumstances. In fact, the Soviet government headed by V. I. Lenin, despite the extraordinary conditions, never lost sight of the ultimate goal - building socialism - to which it consistently subordinated every step it took in this area. That is why Lenin's principles of foreign economic policy remain relevant in the current situation.

Already in the first chapter, the author raises the question of the development by the Soviet Government and V. I. Lenin personally of the basic forms of economic relations with capitalist countries. The book traces the development and adoption of the Decree on the nationalization of Foreign Trade, the beginning of its implementation. Following the historical and chronological principle, the author primarily highlights the Soviet government's approach to the issue of economic cooperation with capitalist states during the Brest-Litovsk peace talks and after the conclusion of the Brest Peace during the Soviet - German negotiations in Berlin in the summer of 1918. Particularly interesting is the material relating to the development of the Soviet economic program in April-May 1918, in which, as is well known, V. I. Lenin took a very active part (pp. 30-34).

The author further examines the process of developing the concession policy of the Soviet state. The analysis of facts and documents leads V. A. Shishkin to the conclusion that by the beginning of 1919 certain views on the concession were already formed, their socio-economic essence was characterized, and the main conditions for their granting were outlined. However, the civil war and intervention interrupted the practical implementation of plans in this area. The book notes that the controversy that had taken place in the party over the permissibility of concessions ended with the adoption of a resolution of the Council of People's Commissars on February 4, 1919, which confirmed Lenin's approach to concession as a measure permissible under certain conditions for the development of the productive forces of a socialist state (p.103).

The economic strategy of the Soviet government led by V. I. Lenin, the author emphasizes, was not limited to the orientation towards coexistence, "cohabitation" with the capitalist market. Even in the most difficult months of the struggle for the existence of Soviet power, Lenin and his associates worked out the question of a new type of international economic relations between the states of the victorious proletariat. The book also shows the first steps towards the practical implementation of the principles of the international socialist division of labor, for example, the treaty concluded on March 1, 1918 between the RSFSR and Finland (where the working class briefly came to power), which contained a number of points regarding close economic cooperation between the two republics and readiness to establish and develop a new type of economic relations (p. 24-25). This aspect is economical-

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It is of fundamental importance, especially now, when the new type of economic relations has already demonstrated its advantages within the framework of the socialist community. One can only regret that in his research, the author did not pay more attention to this primary problem, limiting himself to a scant comment on a few facts and documents.

The relations of Soviet Russia with Western countries are considered in the book according to their role and place in the economic and foreign policy life of our state at that time. At the same time, it should be noted that the author's method of covering the entire set of trade relations between the RSFSR and foreign countries is not always justified. It often forces a lengthy presentation of events and events that are well covered in the literature, which especially affected the content of chapters IV and V. At the same time, V. A. Shishkin did not manage to avoid a certain schematism when describing, in particular, the internal political struggle in a number of capitalist countries on the issue of relations with the Soviet state.

Some provisions in the book need to be clarified. Thus, the author argues that, unlike the political principles of peaceful coexistence of states with different social systems, which were specifically embodied in the first foreign policy acts of the Soviet government, the essence of economic relations was not reflected either in the pre-October program documents of the Bolshevik party or in the first Soviet decrees (see pp. 20-22). However, it must be borne in mind that Lenin's thesis about the possibility of the victory of socialism initially in one or several countries presupposed, in principle, raising the question of the economic relations of countries with opposite social systems. The party's program statement on the need to cancel bonded foreign loans to Russia, formulated as early as in the pre-October period, already led very close to raising the question of genuine equality of rights as the basis of economic relations with other states. In his closing speech at the II All-Russian Congress of Soviets, V. I. Lenin emphasized that the Soviet government, while rejecting all the points of previously concluded predatory agreements, treats agreements providing for economic cooperation and mutually beneficial trade differently: "We reject all points about looting and violence, but we will cordially accept all points where good-neighborly conditions and economic agreements are concluded, we cannot reject them." 2 . Of course, only subsequent practice could and did develop concrete forms of economic relations with the capitalist world, but the general and rather concrete basis of trade and economic policy was already contained in this Leninist statement.

In general, the new monograph by V. A. Shishkin, which is characterized by completeness of analysis, versatility and novelty of sources, critical analysis of the concepts of bourgeois historians, is a serious and fruitful attempt to deepen the study of the history of foreign economic relations in the first years of the Soviet state.

2 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 35, p. 20.

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