Отблеск ушедшего НЭПа? Японская нефтяная концессия на Сахалине (1925–1944)

Вопросы теоретической экономики. 2023. № 2. С. 133–155.

Melnik D. V., Холдевич Д. С.

One of the well-established concepts in the understanding of the Soviet period is the consideration of its initial stage in relation to the implementation of the new economic policy (NEP) and the subsequent departure from it. That was reflected in the analysis of the experience of foreign concessions of the 1920s. It is consistently regarded as one of the elements of the NEP. In this article, we proceed from the fact that this concept is a hypothesis that requires verification. To this end, the fi st section provides a brief overview of the historiography of Soviet concessions. In the second section, the Soviet concession practice in the Far East is placed in the broader context of relations between Russia and Japan. In the third section, based on published and archived data, the main problems in the activities of the Japanese oil concession are considered. The fourth section attempts to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the desired and achieved results of its activities for both parties. There are two main theoretical conclusions. Firstly, the hypothesis according to which the beginning of the concessions was laid by the transition to the NEP, and the end — by its curtailment (due, in turn, to political factors) does not find unambiguous confirmation on the basis of the data considered and needs further verification. Based on this, it can be assumed that the focus on NEP to makes it difficult to analyze the Soviet concession experience. Secondly, concession enterprises for the development of mineral resources in the Soviet Far East arose on the basis of the existing balance of power between states. Their functioning, therefore, depended on maintaining this balance to a greater extent than on economic efficiency indicators for both sides. This conclusion seems to have more than just historical significance.

Keywords: Sakhalin, Сахалин, concession agreement, концессии, concessions, Россия и Япония, Russia and Japan, Russian economic history, советская экономическая история