Barter in Russia
March 29th, 2006
The Russian transition to a workable free market economy in the 1990s brought with it one very striking feature: The widespread reemergence of barter as an accepted, and perhaps even, preferable, means of exchange. Surprisingly, this use of barter was seen less in transactions between individuals, and more in major transactions between firms in almost all industries.
All the usual characteristics of a barter system were seen. For one, almost all deals were bilateral. But given that not all goods bartered could be used directly, additional barter deals were created to garner goods that could be used directly. Complicated barter chains were created, resulting in substantial problems for the Russian economy.
