Soviet Economy Slowly Improving, Gorbachev Says, Assailing Problems and ‘Inertia of the Past’

A rather gloomy picture of past and present Soviet economic performance has been drawn by Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev in his report to a plenum of the Communist Party Central Committee.

While he noted a dramatic improvement in the last harvest and a pickup in industrial output in 1986, Gorbachev described basic shortcomings as well.

As he approaches the second anniversary of his election as general secretary of the party on March 11, 1985, he appears to be far from satisfied with results of his call for perestroika , or revamping of Soviet life.

“Change for the better is taking place slowly,” he said in his opening speech Tuesday, referring to “deep-rooted problems” and “inertia of the past.” He inherited an economy that was “cumbersome and relatively unreceptive to innovation,” Gorbachev said, with a wage system that discouraged good workers and rewarded lazy ones.

Changes in government ministries to give factory managers greater freedom from petty supervision, he added, have come “slowly and painfully.” And a new state system for quality control, Gorbachev complained, has run into heavy resistance at some of the 1,500 enterprises where it was put into effect.

Work ‘Stoppages’ Noted

He acknowledged that work “stoppages”--almost unheard of in the Soviet Union--have occurred as protests against new quality standards, but he gave no sign of backing down on the concept.

“One thing is clear,” Gorbachev said. “We, Communists, and all Soviet people cannot any longer put up with a situation when many enterprises for years are putting out products that are hopelessly obsolete.” His proposal for sweeping changes in factory management and workers’ pay methods, he said, are designed to reverse the “stagnation” of the last decade.

Surprisingly, Gorbachev said the list of mistakes included “disregard for the regulation of supply and demand,” usually associated with capitalist systems.

He also protested that his call for creation of many more cooperative associations to market fruit and vegetables is running into bureaucratic resistance.

“All sorts of obstacles are being put in the way,” he said with obvious impatience.

Brezhnev Era Criticized

Gorbachev also complained about attitudes that he said were formed during the late Soviet leader Leonid I. Brezhnev’s final years in power. Brezhnev died in 1982.

“Loose discipline and a lowering of responsibility are too deeply rooted and are felt painfully to this day,” he said. “It is precisely criminal irresponsibility and carelessness which are the main causes of such tragic events as the accident (last April) at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. . . .”