Issue 4 (73)
| DEFENSE PRIORITIES OF THE SOVIET SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY IN THE FIRST POST-WAR YEARS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 2021 | Number | 4(73) |
| Pages | 125-134 | Type | scientific article |
| UDC | 94(47)“1945/1955” | BBK | 63.3(2)631 |
| Authors | Artemov Evgenii T. |
Topic | THE YEAR OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY |
| Summary | The focus of the article is the study of the main areas and outcomes of the national science and technology policy in the first post-war decade. The long-term design projects adopted in that period required a wide scope of intensive research programs. This was seen as an essential condition for the technological modernization of production, its “vigorous growth” and the “increase” of labor productivity “in all sectors of the national economy”. However, as a result of the country’s involvement in the “cold war” process this policy had to be abandoned. Main efforts were concentrated on the expansion of research and development programs in the defense sector. The article attempts to estimate their weight in the overall R&D expenses during the reviewed period. They were designed to solve two extremely costly problems simultaneously, i. e. the production of conventional weapons for a multi-million army, and closing a gap between the “probable enemy” and the Soviet Union in the nuclear weapons development. The result of that policy was an excessive militarization of the Soviet research programs. The author comes to a conclusion that this had a negative effect on the implementation of the ambitious plans to accelerate science and technology progress and the economic growth, as well as improve the welfare of the population. It was only after the death of Stalin that the country adopted a more balanced approach to the science and technology potential development. | ||
| Keywords | science and technology policy, cold war, military strategy, defense research and development, research and development expenses | ||
| References |
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