Acceleration/Uskorenie

• Decline in oil prices globally was a major reason for the Soviet economy's failure.
• Soviet oil revenues fell by more than 40% from 1981-1985 due to a fall in oil prices.
• Combined with the drop in alcohol revenues, the Soviet economy made significantly less money from the mid-1980s.
• Gorbachev financed acceleration by borrowing from Western countries, resulting in government debt rising from $18.1 billion in 1981 to $27.2 billion in 1988.
• Gorbachev invested in energy production, ignoring the advice of his economic experts, which did not lead to greater growth.
• Increased debt led to more government spending on interest payments, resulting in less money to spend on further modernisation or to produce consumer goods.
• Overall, acceleration did not lead to economic growth but instead caused an economic crisis.