Bodrova E. V., Kalinov V. V.

Development of tool-making industry in post-war USSR as a factor hindering scientific and technological revolution P. 48 –58.

UDC 681.2(47)(09)

DOI 10.37724/RSU.2023.80.3.004

Abstract. Based on recently opened archival documents, the paper investigates tool-making development as part of the Soviet economic policy. We take tool-manufacture as a significant case in the scientific and technological revolution and analyze the main results of Soviet state policy in this area. We look into the tasks posed at the time and the amount of work planned, as well as the ways of implementing the plans. The paper specifies the tempos of development for several production fields and the causes of inconsistent implementation. This can finalize ongoing disputes about the causes why economic acceleration was hindered in that period of Soviet history. It has been proved that the post-war conversion, the technical and technological unpreparedness of defense enterprises for manufacture of civilian products led to a sharp drop in industrial production, due to several causes (including low technological readiness of our defense enterprises for production of consumer goods). The current research leads us to the conclusion that in those years the Soviet tool-making industry developed at a slow pace. Very few products met the requirements of contemporary technology. Many necessary instruments were not produced at all. Based on inspections carried out and on conclusions of scientists who proposed to allocate several well-equipped specialized plants united in a single center for production of goods necessary primarily for engineering and military forces, and a package of measures was developed to overcome the slowdown trend. Together with considerable achievements and the beginning of mass training of specialists for the industry, we observe a number of failures: many devices, regulators and units necessary for automation were not produced at all or were produced in insufficient quantities. Discontinued devices were extremely slowly replaced with new models. The slowdown factors were due to unresolved organizational issues, narrow departmental approaches, lack of a special coordinating body, inconsistency of plans and resources available.

 

Keywords: scientific and technological revolution, industry, instrument making, post-war period, technological breakthrough.

 

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