Computer technology in eastern European countries and the former Soviet Union: An interpretative bibliography

Abstract

Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States are going through deep and dramatic changes and are entering a new era. The development of high‐technology industries is considered crucial to help revitalize the economies of Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, the eastern provinces of Germany (former German Democratic Republic), Hungary, Poland, Romania, and the old Soviet Union. Moreover, the current status, operation, and progress of the information processing industry represent the most fascinating areas of old East Bloc industrialization. It is widely known that the majority of industries in these countries are obsolete in comparison with the Western countries. Computer and communications technologies comprise this branch of industry where the technological gap between East and West is the widest. Catching up with western countries would take eastern countries ten years for software and supercomputers, eight years for mainframes, six years for microprocessors, and five years for minicomputers. Western countries consider this necessity to catch up as one of the main obstacles to future European integration.