Science and Innovation in the Soviet Economic Strategies of the 1930s–1960s

The article endeavors to formulate several hypotheses concerning the role of the scientific and technical imperative in Soviet economic strategies spanning the period from the 1930s to the 1960s. This conceptualization facilitates the characterization of “Soviet scientific project,” denoting purposeful endeavors to leverage scientific, technical, and technological advancements within the Soviet industrial system. The study draws on the theoretical foundations of W. Rostow regarding the stages of economic growth, coupled with the theory of catch-up accelerated modernization. The interplay between the pace of economic growth and the expansion of scientific and technical activities during the Soviet industrialization “take-off” is elucidated, as manifested in scientific and technological policy. The article presents interpretations addressing the paradox of why the pronounced emphasis on scientific, engineering and technological factors, pivotal in propelling the USSR’s industrial advancement, ultimately encapsulated in the Soviet paradigms of scientific and technological progress and scientific and technological revolution, failed to sustain positive economic dynamics. The conclusion drawn posits that in the conditions of maintaining the basic economic model in the USSR, it was not possible to carry out a frontal modernization of production, and the country encountered challenges in effecting a comprehensive modernization of production based on cutting-edge scientific achievements and technologies. The creation of an integrated national innovation system and the facilitation of a balanced transition from the “take-off” phase to sustained self-sustaining growth proved elusive

Conceptualization · Economic growth · Economic system · Economics · Industrialisation · Market economy · Modernization theory · Neoclassical economics · Pace · Political science · Technical progress · Technological change · Computer Science · Post-Communist Economic and Political Transition · Russia and Soviet political economy