Melting Points
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6180820 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Tamar Qeburia (0000-0002-3720-7713, Leibniz Institute for East-Southeast European Studies (IOS), Regensburg, Germany, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Pages | 1-30 |
| Publication date | 2025-10-22 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Communist and Post-Communist Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0967-067X • E-ISSN: 1873-6920 |
| Publisher | University of California Press (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1525/cpcs.2025.2685428 |
| OpenAlex | W4415487617 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 10 |
This article examines the historical trajectory of the closed-top electric furnace (CTEF), an industrial technology designed to revolutionize metallurgical smelting in Soviet industrial manufacturing. By tracing the CTEF’s evolution from initial proposal through experimental trials to its ultimate resolution through Japanese technology importation, this study illuminates the inherent contradictions within the Soviet system and situates metallurgical innovation within the broader political context of de-Stalinization. The CTEF project emerged during a critical period when Soviet technological priorities were being redefined, offering an illuminating case study of post-Stalinist scientific enterprise. Through analysis of primary source materials, this work reveals how Georgian scientists strategically navigated the institutional landscape of the era, leveraging Soviet policy frameworks while pursuing professional advancement and cultural aspirations. These scientists legitimized their work not only through economic justifications—particularly the potential for waste gas utilization in the chemical industry—but also by deliberately connecting their innovations to Georgia’s ancient metallurgical heritage. The technological solutions they developed exemplified the socialist approach to science while reflecting systemic contradictions that highlighted the persistent gap between ambitious political directives and practical realities. By focusing on this single industrial innovation, the article provides nuanced insights into the complex negotiations between regional scientific communities, industrial priorities, and central state power within the Soviet Union’s pursuit of technological progress and national development
History of technology · Negotiation · Politics · Technological change · Technology policy · Soviet and Russian History · Turkey's Politics and Society
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |