Evolution of State Scientific and Technical Policy in USSR in Late 1960s

Abstract

This study conducts a comparative analysis of the state of the scientific and technical complex of the USSR and leading Western countries in the 1960s based on declassified archival materials. It identifies the main trends in science and technology during this period and the factors that led to the lagging behind of the USSR. Previously unpublished archival documents are introduced into scholarly discourse. It is demonstrated that the data sent to the country’s leadership by leading specialists and scientists of the Academy of Sciences indicated the USSR’s lag in several crucial directions determining the pace of scientific and technical progress. Key hindering factors cited by experts included insufficient funding, lack of coordination among various agencies, absence of interaction between the defense and civilian sectors of science, and planning miscalculations. The conclusion is drawn that this list can be supplemented with reasons such as inadequate competence of some top-level government officials, departmental approach, shortage of specialists in key areas, and disregard for recommendations from leading scientists. Meanwhile, trends in the development of the scientific and technical sphere in the USA and other leading countries indicated the establishment of national innovation systems as highly effective mechanisms for accelerating scientific and technical progress.