Technology Transfer to the USSR, 1928-1937 and 1966-1975: The Role of Western Technology in Soviet Economic Development

This analysis of the basic Soviet orientation to the international economy in general, and to Western technology in particular, examines the Soviet experience in borrowing technology from the West during two periods, 1928-1937 and 1966-1975. It includes case studies of three major projects in the Soviet automotive industry. Dr. Holliday studies the methods used by the Soviet Union to acquire foreign technology and evaluates the impact of Soviet attitudes, policies, and economic institutions on the technology transfer process. The evidence he presents–a new Soviet economic growth strategy that places emphasis on technological change, new attitudes among Soviet political leaders, and new institutional developments–suggests that Soviet policy is undergoing a gradual but definitive change away from the isolationist approach of the Stalinist period toward a policy of greater technological interdependence with the West.