Theoretical and ideological problems of public-private partnership during the New Economic Policy (1921-1929)

The article examines one of the most controversial periods of Russian history - the era of the new economic policy (NEP), within the framework of which the Soviet state for the first time after the revolution went on an experiment to legalize private capital and create hybrid forms of management. The purpose of the article is to analyze the deep theoretical and ideological conflicts that arose during the integration of private (including foreign) capital into the economic system of Soviet Russia. The fundamental economic essence of a PPP is the delegation by the state of the right to certain economic activities and profit in exchange for investment and infrastructure development. Theoretical historical and economic analysis in the field of domestic economics reveals deep historical roots and continuity with the models of interaction between the state and private capital in the pre-revolutionary period. The connection between these eras lies not so much in the identity of legal forms as in the fundamental principles and mechanisms of mobilizing private resources to solve strategic national tasks in a catch-up development and a «quasi-market» institutional environment. Referring to the experience of the 1920s makes it possible to identify patterns and risks of interaction between the state and private capital. The author proves that the PPP during the NEP years was of a dual and internally conflictual nature. However, the historical lessons of the New Economic Policy within the framework of public-private partnership remain in demand in shaping Russia’s modern investment policy and show that PPPs are quite capable of developing on their own economic basis.