Joint Stock Companies in the USSR and the RSFSR

It is believed that in the USSR, the organizational and legal form of a joint‑stock company was not in demand. In‑depth theoretical studies are dedicated to such commonly used organizational and legal forms in the USSR as enterprises, trusts, institutions, and others. However, in the works of researchers from both the Soviet and post‑Soviet periods, there is a historical analysis of Soviet joint‑stock companies. Archival documents testify not only to the demand for the joint‑stock form but also to the development of legal thought relevant to it, taking into account pre‑revolutionary Russian law and foreign legal practices. The purpose of this work is to identify the reasons for the existence (needs) and features of the legal regulation of the joint‑stock company under the socialist system. The objectives of the study are to conduct a historical and legal analysis of the functioning of joint‑stock companies in the USSR in various historical periods. The author employs a historical research method, including a comparative‑historical approach. The empirical basis consists of the practical application of Soviet legislation on joint‑stock companies during the period of the New Economic Policy, as recorded in the normative documents of that time and the works of Soviet jurists. The paper concludes about the reasons for the demand for the joint‑stock form in different historical periods of the USSR.