The Soviet military-industrial complex in 1945–1950: crisis or conversion transition (historiographical aspect)

Abstract

The paper presents an analysis of the historiography of the military-industrial complex development in the USSR in 19451950. Attention is focused on determining the main approaches to the development of the military-industrial complex in the years of post-war economic recovery. The results of the study show that the characterization of the situation in which military production found itself since the second half of 1945, as a crisis, has no sufficient grounds. Most of the problems experienced by the Soviet military-industrial complex took place during the Great Patriotic War and even earlier. The transition to a peaceful life only aggravated them. Changes in the military-industrial complex system after the war were not related to the crisis, but to the conversion transition, which was accompanied by significant investments in new industries rocket science, nuclear industry, radar. On the other hand, the conversion process was characterized by an increase in the share of civilian output and a reduction in defence products. Modern Russian historiography shows that the approach to managing the economy of military production and planning underwent changes. The requirements for the quality of weapons in connection with the increase in their service life became tougher. It is proved that one of the promising directions in historiography at the present stage is the plot of interdepartmental conflicts in the military-industrial complex system and ways to resolve them.