THE "NEW WORLD ECONOMIC ORDER" AND THE COLD WAR: A VIEW FROM THE USSR (mid 1940s - mid 1960s)

The article is based on new evidences from the Archive of External Policy of the Ministry of Foreign Relations of the Russian Federation and the Russian State Archive of Contemporary History. It deals with the issue of Soviet (non-) participation in the formation of a New International (World) Economic Order (NIEO) after the World War II. It provides a detailed analysis of peculiarities of Soviet position at the conference in Bretton Woods and offers the first reconstruction of the full chronology of key discussions on the Soviet part. The author argues that the temporary refusal to sign the agreements did not mean an ultimate refusal to have economic cooperation with the West. Various Soviet experts continued discussing this topic until the beginning of 1947. The article reveals the new evidence that in 1965 the USSR was again invited to one of the key banks in the global economy. This time it was the Asian Development bank, a transregional organization with global participation. However, the current geopolitical situation in the South-East Asia prevented Moscow from joining the Bretton Woods system through the 'backdoor'. The author comes to the conclusion that even without its participation in official Bretton Woods institutions the Soviet Union influenced the world economy through the Third World countries taking part in designing new institutions of another New International Economic Order of 1960s - 1970s, such as UNCTAD.