That Time the Soviet Union (Grudgingly) Turned to Free Markets to Save Its Collapsing Economy

In Revolutionary Russia: 1881-1991, author Orlando Figes explains what happened when Vladimir Lenin turned to private enterprise and free markets out of pure necessity.

The restoration of the market brought life back to the Soviet economy. Private trade responded instantly to the chronic shortages that had built up over seven years of war, revolution, and the Civil War."