Science in late Soviet higher education institutions: governance, hierarchies, and interactions

The introductory article problematizes the understudied issues of the institutional history of science in the late Soviet higher education (HE) from the 1950s to the 1980s, generalizing on the articles of the thematic issue. The authors depart from the idea of multiple modes of governance and the agency of universities and rely on a combination of “history from above” and “history from below”. Analyzing organizational forms along with institutional logics, the authors find that the functioning of HE science was more complex than proponents of its “secondary” character and isolation from the academic and industrial sectors suggest. The increasing substantive and organizational complexity of HE science required more fine-tuned management. However, the development of non-directive regulatory mechanisms and informal interactions, while partially solving this problem, even led to increased tension under the dominance of command-administrative measures. The late Soviet period is characterized by the increasing complexity of HEI hierarchy in terms of the volume and nature of scientific research work (R&D). High competition led to the consolidation of a group of leading universities, which later became the forerunners of post-Soviet national research universities. Although HEIs demonstrated remarkable adaptability to changes in scientific and technological policies, their agentic strategies were reactive, tending to maintain the status quo rather than contribute to institutional changes. The late Soviet period was also marked by the implicit spread of pro-market logics and mechanisms of interaction, such as competition, contract research, efficiency discourse, economization, and quantification. It enables us to find the deep roots of neoliberal reforms in post-Soviet higher education in Soviet legacy.