[mglz]

> I have a pet theory that the state-planned economies failed not because they were inefficient

Well, a lot of it was corruption. A sufficient level of corruption can destroy almost any system, even if it had a well-meaning leader at the top.

[aebtebeten]

That suggests a plausible mechanism for why the dissolution of the Union was so peaceful: faced with a call for glasnost' from Moscow, local leaders preferred to quietly leave?

Do we have any reasonable datasets for before-and-after corruption levels in the FSU, or would that be a project which would* need another 3-5 decades to be viable?

* in the absence of sufficient well-placed cabbage?

EDIT: circumstantial, but chin-scratch-worthy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasnost#Opposition (romania's post-communist transition was exceptionally** violent)

** here I count the stans as having suffered from preexisting violence