FONDODERZHATELI

Literal translation: "fund holders."

In the Soviet economy, various organizations were holders and managers of inputs (fondoderzhateli ). The principal fund holders were ministries and regional and local governments. In some instances, the state executive committees that directed construction organizations and local industry had fund-holding authority as well. Only fund holders were legally entitled to allocate funded resources, the most important of which were allocated by the State Planning Committee (Gosplan) and the State Committee for Material Technical Supply (Gossnab). Fund holders had to estimate input needs and their distribution among subordinate enterprises. They were obliged to allocate funds among direct consumers, such as enterprises, plants, and construction organizations within their jurisdiction. Fund holders also monitored the use of allocated funds. Funding (fondirovanie ) was the typical form of centralized distribution of resources for important and highly "deficit" products. Such centrally allocated materials were called "funded" (fondiruyumye ) commodities and were typically distributed among the enterprises by ministries. Enterprises were not allowed to exchange funded inputs legally. Material balances and distribution plans among fund holders were developed by Gosplan and then approved by the Council of Ministries. The ministries had their own supply departments that worked with central supply organizations. The enterprises related input requirements to their superiors through orders (zayavki ), which were aggregated by the fund holder. At each stage of economic planning, requested inputs were compared to estimated input needs, and imbalances were corrected administratively without the use of prices. The process of allocating funded resources was characterized by constant bargaining between fund holders and consumers, where the latter were required to "defend" their needs.

See also: funded commodities

Paul R. Gregory