The huge complex of Soviet institutions and enterprises specialised in military production powerfully influenced the course of the twentieth century through resistance to imperial Japan, the defeat of Nazi Germany, and nuclear stalemate with America in the Cold War. Based on collaborative research by Russian and British scholars in the hitherto secret archives of the Soviet government, party, and armed forces, this book is a pioneering investigation of the economic dynamics and social and political significance of Soviet defence.

Detailed account of the historical origins and rise of the Soviet defence industryFirst defence industry study to be based on Russian-British collaboration and original archival documentsCross-disciplinary approach integrating history, economics, sociology and political scienceReveals the unknown about the Soviet defence industry and its institutionsReputation of series

List of Tables List of Figures Preface Acknowledgements Notes on the Contributors List of Abbreviations PART I: OVERVIEW The Structure and Development of the Defence-Industry Complex; J.Barber, M.Harrison, N.Simonov & B.Starkov PART II: THE FORMATIVE PHASE The 'War Scare' of 1927 and the Birth of the Soviet Defence-Industry Complex; N.Simonov The Red Army's Economic Objectives and Involvements in Economic Planning, 1925-40; L.Samuelson Defence Spending and Defence Industry in the 1930s; R.W.Davies & M.Harrison PART III: THE WAR AND THE POST-WAR PERIOD Wartime Mobilisation: A German Comparison; M.Harrison New Postwar Branches (1): Rocketry; M.Harrison New Postwar Branches (2): The Nuclear Industry; N.Simonov PART IV: THE DEFENCE-INDUSTRY COMPLEX AND SOCIETY The Defence-Industry Complex in Leningrad (1): The Interwar Period; A.Losik & A.Shcherba The Defence-industry Complex in Leningrad (2): The Postwar Uranium Industry; N.Lebina Krasnoiarsk-26: A Closed City of the Defence-Industry Complex; V.Glazyrina PART V: REGULATION AND CONTROL Mobpodgotovka: Mobilisation Planning in Industry; N.Simonov Voenpriemka: Prices, Costs, and Quality Assurance in Defence Industry; M.Harrison & N.Simonov The Security Organs and the Defence-Industry Complex; B.Starkov Index