Economic Cold War
This is a loosely related collection of primary source documents that discuss economic issues during the Cold War period. These documents are all varied in topic and geographical coverage, ranging from the 1950s to the 1980s, and coming from Russian, Bulgarian, and Romanian archives. Topics broadly covered include issues of economic growth and dearth, requests for aid in light of shortages, and international trade issues. See also Stalin in the Cold War. (Image, Soviet 100 ruble bill)
-
January 16, 1950
Information at a CC BCP Plenum re: Stalin's view on the purges in the BCP
Georgi Chankov and Vulko Chervenkov present a report before the BCP CC on their recent meeting with Joseph Stalin, Georgi Malenkov and Nikolai Bulganin in Moscow. Among the issues discussed were the ongoing purges in the BCP, the role of the Agrarian Movement in the government, the state of the Bulgarian armed forces and the Bulgarian industrial and agricultural production.
-
April 03, 1963
Memorandum of Conversation between Yuri Andropov and the Central Committee of the Romanian Worker’s Party
Soviet politburo member Yuri Andropov and Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej discuss issues concerning the cooperation between the CPSU and the Romanian Worker's party and the two governments. The discussion ranges between economic integration issues, to the Sino-Soviet split, Soviet-Albanian relations, and politico-military cooperation between Warsaw Pact states.
-
1966
Note on Certain Characteristics of Western Trade Developments for 1966 (undated)
Report on the main aspects of international trade for the year 1966. The report covers issues such as developing countries’ growth in exports, the trade balances of various Western countries, East-West trade, and trends for 1967.
-
May 22, 1967
Report on French Trade with the Socialist Bloc
Summary of an article from the newspaper Il Sole (2.14.1967) regarding the outlook for French trade relations with the Communist Bloc. the report was forwarded by manea Manescu, Vice-President of the Council of Ministers to Nicolae Ceausescu, Secretary General, CC RCP
-
June 20, 1967
The Romanian Trade Deficit with the Federal Republic of Germany. Summary from the West German newspaper Handelsblatt (05/22/1967), forwarded to Nicolae Ceausescu, Secretary General CC RCP by Manea Manescu, Vice-President of the Council of Ministers.
Summary of a newspaper article from the West German Newspaper Handelsblatt dated 5.22.1967 discussing trends of Romanian-West German trade. Romania's growing balance of trade deficit, the newspaper concludes, will continue to grow, forcing the Romanians to drastically cut imports at a later point. The summary was forwarded by Manea Manescu, Vice-President of the Council of Ministers to Nicolae Ceausescu, Secretary General, CC RCP on 6.22.1967
-
September 02, 1968
Note on the US credit extended to Poland
Note from the Vice-President of the Romanian Council of Ministers Manea Manescu to Secretary General of the CC RCP Nicolae Ceausescu on Washington’s decision to extend a 500 million USD credit to Poland, to be repaid in 25 years. The note discusses the terms of the credit and the repayment policy, as well as the consequences of the credit on the Polish economy.
-
September 23, 1968
Tables on the trade of Romania for the 1966-1968 period; on trade relation agreements between Romania and socialist countries for the 1966-1970 period; and on projections for trade relations with socialist countries for the 1969-1970 period.
Tables on the evolution of trade of Romania for the 1966-1968 period compared with long-term agreements; on trade relation agreements between Romania and socialist countries for the 1966-1970 period as compared with agreements for the 1961-1965 period; on projections for trade relations with socialist countries for the 1969-1970 period. The tables give the data in million rubles for Romanian trade with all socialist countries.
-
April 27, 1970
Minutes of Conversation between Todor Zhivkov and Aldo Moro, Sofia, 1970
Todor Zhivkov and the Italian Foreign Minister, Aldo Moro, discuss the political and trade relations between People’s Republic of Bulgaria and Italy. They both emphasize the need for securing a long-lasting peace on the continent.
-
March 11, 1976
Minutes of the meeting between Todor Zhivkov and Fidel Castro in Sofia
Conversation for the record between Zhivkov and Castro during a four-day-long state visit of the Cuban leader to Bulgaria. Among the main issues discussed was the state of economic development in both countries, their relations with Albania, China, Romania and Yugoslavia; the Cuban foreign policy in Africa and the Caribbean; the civil war in Angola; the battle for the Third World.
-
November 10, 1980
Hungarian report on 'Economic Interkit' Meeting in Bulgaria, October 1980
Reports on a meeting that took place in Bulgaria regarding cooperative measures to be taken in regards to the People’s Republic of China. It notes that China has reduced the number of items it seeks to import, and is hinting that it will continue to do so in the future, as well. The Soviets, however, would like to keep trade and even technological and scientific informational trade at the same level that it is at now.
-
November 16, 1981
Sino-Soviet trade, 1981
Mongolian embassy official and Deputy Head of the USSR MFA meet to discuss Sino-Soviet relations. The latter notes that the Chinese have not had a change in their attitude or policy, so no positive changes can be expected. Issues related to trade, both physical, technical and scientific, are discussed.
-
August 12, 1988
Decision A No. 130 of Politburo of the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party
After signing the Geneva agreements Politburo of the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party thought it necessary to widen the political, economic and moral support to the Republic of Afghanistan.