Trade of the Soviet Union
By Ronald Chan
Basic Information
Official name: Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (abbreviation: USSR)
Formed: 1922
Dissolved: 1991
Form of government: Marxist-Leninist single-party unionPopulation: Lowest at 137,727,000 (January 1920), peak at 293,047,571 (July 1991)
Currency
100-ruble banknote
500-ruble bankote
20-kopek coin, 1987
Soviet Exports
After the end of the Second World War in 1945, the Soviet Union has become a fully developed nation and superpower, exports start to emphasize more on manufactured industrial goods than agriculture. Many other socialist countries have been established around the world (most of whom joined the COMECON, an international economic alliance between socialist states), and to most of those countries, exports from the Soviet Union emphasized the most on oil, as COMECON prices for Soviet oil were lower than world oil prices (especially during the 1970's and 80's). By 1985 weapons exports to third-world countries amounted to over 50%.
Agricultural Export
Petroleum Export
Weapons Export
Soviet Imports
In the post-WWII and Cold War era, the Soviet Union's closest trading partners were the COMECON socialist states. By the time Eastern Europe's industrial base had been rebuilt from the ruins of WWII and further expanded, the Soviet Union imported largely manufactured industrial goods from the socialist states, in return for oil exports from the Soviet Union to the socialist states. By the 1980s, the Soviet Union's imports from third-world countries largely consist of agricultural products, half of them being grain.
Cotton Import
Manufactured Industrial Import
Agricultural Import
The Accomplishment of Soviet Trade
Weighing the Benefits of Soviet Trade
But trading with the Soviet Union does come with drawbacks, exports of the Soviet Union sacrifices a considerable portion of its quality for its quantity; the quality of Soviet large-quantity exports have comparably mediocre quality.
In the end for a country to truly benefit from trading with the Soviet Union, it must import in large quantities from the Soviet Union and be massively sold in low price at its own domestic market. For example, if a country's national armed forces is to import Soviet weaponry, it must be sure that its armed forces must be large in size, and the Soviet weapons imports must be bought in a large quantity to be distributed among its military.
Bibliography
"Soviet Union - Trade With Other Socialist Countries." Country Data. Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress, 1989. Web. 18 Apr. 2016.
"Soviet Union - The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance." Country Data. Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress, 1989. Web. 18 Apr. 2016.
"Soviet Union - Balance of Trade." Country Data. Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress, 1989. Web. 18 Apr. 2016.