Soviet Technological “Revolution” and the Development of Military Industrial Complex, 1945-1953 Cover Image
  • Price 4.50 €

„Revoluţia” tehnologică sovietică şi apariţia complexului militar industrial, 1945-1953
Soviet Technological “Revolution” and the Development of Military Industrial Complex, 1945-1953

Author(s): Cosmin Popa
Subject(s): History
Published by: Institutul National pentru Studiul Totalitarismului
Keywords: USSR; USA; Beria; Malenkov; Saburov; Stalin; weapons; atomic project; missiles; investments; intelligence; Nazism; military industrial complex; Soviet society; science;

Summary/Abstract: Immediately after the end of the Second World War, under the strong influence of the atomic bombing of Japan, the Soviet Union implemented a complex program with the purpose of upgrading the technology of the Red Army. The atomic bomb, the construction of reactive armament and the anti-missile shield were among the pillars of the program for remilitarization of an important part of the soviet post-war economy. Being sure that the Soviet Union can only keep its war conquests by reaching the same level of military potential as the USA, Stalin began from 1945 an arming race, while subordinating the economic reconstruction of the country to its military objectives. The immediate result was the reaching of a superior level of technology in the construction of military gear, but also the foundation of a grand military industrial complex, which would substantially slow down the economic development of the civic society. In this way, the cohesion of a society which barely made it through the war and which was waiting for a set of reforms to relax the limits of the system was greatly damaged. Since the first years of the post-war era, while being sustained by an unbalanced economy and an exhausted society, the soviet military industrial complex has proved to be a much too heavier burden for the system as a whole. While gaining the Superpower status, exclusively because of the force of its army, Stalin would condemn the soviet communism and not only to a longstanding economic and social downfall, which would only be toned down by the ignorance of the West and the chance of the international economic cycles, but which would never stop entirely.

  • Issue Year: XXII/2014
  • Issue No: 3-4
  • Page Range: 15-34
  • Page Count: 20
  • Language: Romanian