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Soviet Union [USSR] SCIENCE AND IDEOLOGY
The extent to which the CPSU and communist ideology influenced
Soviet science and technology has varied over time. During the
Civil War (1918-21) and particularly during the Stalin era, party
controls over science were extensive and oppressive. In the 1980s,
party influence over science has been far less rigid but still
evident.
According to one Western scholar, the CPSU controlled science
in four ways. First, the CPSU maintained control by formulating the
country's overall science and technology policy. Second, the party
ensured that its policies were implemented at all levels of
government through a network of all-union, regional, and local
party organizations that oversaw the work of science and technology
organs operating at comparable levels. Even in research institutes
or factories, local party committees exerted their authority by
requiring directors and managers to adhere to party dictates
(see Soviet Union USSR - Primary Party Organization
, ch. 7). Local party committees reported
to higher authorities on plan fulfillment, labor discipline, and
worker morale.
Third, the CPSU exercised full power over appointments to key
positions, controlling the appointment of high-level
administrators, mid-level managers, and probably institute
directors and research laboratory and department heads
(see Soviet Union USSR - Nomenklatura
, ch. 7). The fourth method of control was ideological,
including that exercised over both the professional and the private
lives of scientists. The CPSU controlled individuals' work through
its authority to dismiss personnel, to deny bonuses or fringe
benefits, to restrict travel and publishing opportunities, and to
impose other disciplinary actions. Control over personal lives was
maintained through the Committee for State Security (Komitet
gosudarstvennoi bezopasnosti--KGB) and was evident during the 1970s
and early 1980s, when the government harshly treated dissident
scientists accused of nonconformity with party policies. The
treatment eased under General Secretary Mikhail S. Gorbachev, who,
for example, permitted dissident physicist Andrei Sakharov to
return to Moscow from internal exile in Gor'kiy.
Influence, though, has not been one sided. Science officials
have had opportunities to affect party decisions. Since the mid1950s , many top party officials have cultivated close ties to
prominent scientists. This proximity has allowed scientists to
influence decisions directly through their associations with policy
makers or through appointments to policy advisory councils. Another
opportunity has been appointment to top-level party organs. The
number of scientists with membership in the CPSU Central Committee
rose from seven in 1951 to nineteen in 1981. At the lower levels,
facility managers often have used their close ties with party
representatives to acquire more funds or better supplies.
Data as of May 1989
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