Abstract
This thesis aims to take a closer look at Sen's assertion and inquire into the degree to which sustainable development (as the electrification in Russia can be conceived) was generated by unfreedom. The practical implications of this term corresponds to what Soviet leadership considered a positive and self-less sacrifice of individual freedoms for the benefit of what they proclaimed to be the recognized necessity of the Soviet state or the proletariat throughout the world. Fueled by positivist notions of industrialization and technological advancement, development in the Soviet Union began to liberate of human capabilities but not without a price. At the same time the progress involved depriving Soviet citizens of their basic freedoms. By discussing development as “a process of expanding the real freedoms that people enjoy” (Sen, 1999:3), this study attempts to cast new light on the Bolshevik Party’s electrification of Russia, with reference to its cost in human lives.