The Labyrinth
Title
The Labyrinth
Description
"Written on the papers: “Order, Instruction, Decree, Explanation to Paragraph No. 141, Supplement to Instruction No. 638, Item 45 of Order No. 651…”
Typical for the Soviet command-and-control type of administration, policies that had direct bearing on people’s lives were carried out not through a legislative process but by decrees of top leadership, put in place or withdrawn by their will (Eaton, 2004). There was no place for logic or common sense in routine decision making. As Solnick (1998) indicates: “Procedures and documentation mattered far more than any sort of Weberian rationality in guiding the behavior of policy makers”.
Typical for the Soviet command-and-control type of administration, policies that had direct bearing on people’s lives were carried out not through a legislative process but by decrees of top leadership, put in place or withdrawn by their will (Eaton, 2004). There was no place for logic or common sense in routine decision making. As Solnick (1998) indicates: “Procedures and documentation mattered far more than any sort of Weberian rationality in guiding the behavior of policy makers”.
Creator
None
Date
None
Source
Rutgers & Harvard
Rights
Source:
Holzer, M., Illiash, I., Gabrielian, V., & Kuznestsova, L. (2010). Red Tape from Red Square:Bureaucratic Commentary in Soviet Graphic Satirical Art. Poughkeepsie, NY: NetPublicaions
Solnick, S. L. (1998). Stealing the State: Control and Collapse in Soviet institutions. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Holzer, M., Illiash, I., Gabrielian, V., & Kuznestsova, L. (2010). Red Tape from Red Square:Bureaucratic Commentary in Soviet Graphic Satirical Art. Poughkeepsie, NY: NetPublicaions
Solnick, S. L. (1998). Stealing the State: Control and Collapse in Soviet institutions. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Publisher
Rutgers & Harvard
Contributor
Rutgers & Harvard
Format
Medium: Poster
Language
Russian
Type
Artwork
Identifier
Art, Satire, Cartoons, Soviet Union, Bad Management, Authoritarian
Coverage
Russia
Files
Reference
None, The Labyrinth, Rutgers & Harvard, None
Cite As
None, “The Labyrinth,” Virtual Museum of Public Service, accessed September 30, 2023, https://vmps.omeka.net/items/show/478.