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Soviet Union [USSR] Chapter 16. Science and Techology
SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL progress has played a crucial role
in the domestic and foreign relations of the Soviet Union and other
modern, industrialized nations. New domestic developments have
promised to strengthen the Soviet economy, enhance its military
capabilities, and significantly influence Soviet relations with
other countries.
The Soviet Union has placed great emphasis on science and
technology. Soviet leaders since Vladimir I. Lenin have stressed
that science and technology growth is essential to overall economic
expansion of the country. They have overseen the development of a
massive network of research and development organizations that in
the 1980s employed more scientists, engineers, and researchers than
any other nation. Their commitment also has been reflected in the
annual increase in government funds allocated to science and
technology and in the efforts made to incorporate science and
mathematics courses in the school curriculum at all levels. In 1989
Soviet scientists were among the world's best-trained specialists
in several critical fields.
The results of this commitment to science and technology have
been mixed. In some areas, the Soviet Union has achieved notable
success. For example, in 1964 two Soviet scientists, Nikolai Basov
and Aleksandr Prokhorov, shared a Nobel Prize, together with the
American Charles H. Townes, for their research in developing the
laser. Soviet scientists also have excelled in space research. In
1957 they launched the first artificial earth satellite,
Sputnik (see Glossary), and in 1989 they still held several records for
longevity in space. Other strengths have included high-energy
physics, selected areas of medicine, mathematics, and welding
technologies. And, of course, in some military-related technologies
the Soviet Union has equaled or even surpassed Western levels.
In other areas, the Soviet Union has been less successful. In
chemistry, biology, and computers the Soviet Union in 1989 remained
far behind the technological levels achieved in the West and in
Japan. Research and development in industries producing consumer
goods has received little attention, and the goods produced in
those industries have long been considered to be of extremely low
quality by Western standards.
This disparity in the achievements of Soviet technological
development has resulted from a combination of historical,
economic, planning, and organizational factors. All have combined
to produce a system in which scientists and engineers have had
little incentive to innovate because of immense bureaucratic
obstacles and because of limited professional and personal rewards.
In the 1980s, the problems of science and technology received
considerable attention in the Soviet Union. Cognizant of their
country's serious economic shortcomings, leaders stressed the
importance of scientific and technological advances to end the
Soviet Union's dependence on
extensive economic development (see Glossary) and to move
toward intensive development. In the middle
of the decade, the new leadership began examining the problems of
Soviet science and technology and launched numerous programs and
reforms aimed at improving the country's research, development, and
production processes.
Data as of May 1989
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