Stalin had created a command economy that emphasized heavy manufacturing and smokestack industries, making it highly inflexible all thumbs and no fingers.

One of the most visible characteristics was the smokestack, the extreme size was more a concession to tradition than of practical advantage on a diesel powered vessel.

The technologies that can really make a difference quickly and at lower cost are scrubbers that clean smokestack emissions, catalytic converters that reduce tailpipe emissions, and many others.

The Soviet economy s decline, meanwhile, reflected the diminished ability of central planning to respond to global economic change. Stalin had created a command economy that emphasized heavy manufacturing and smokestack industries, making it highly inflexible all thumbs and no fingers.