Problems of planning and production of armored vehicles in the USSR in the post-war period 1945-1953 (according to Gosplan documents). Part 2

The post-war conversion of the defense industry led to technological, organizational, structural and production changes. This process is analyzed within the chronological framework of 1945 - early 1953 in the context of interdepartmental relations. In defending their interests, the customer (armed forces) and the manufacturer (People’s Commissariats/Ministries of Defense Industries), depending on the situation, could unite into lobbying groups or, on the contrary, come into conflict with each other on issues of increasing weapons production and resource distribution. The State Planning Committee of the USSR (Gosplan) was at the center of interdepartmental relations and lobbying initiatives, consistently pursuing a course towards conversion in the military-industrial complex. It balanced the ambitions of departments and sought to bring the post-war economy to a state of equilibrium. The author substantiates the thesis that an increase in the share of civilian products, accompanied by a decrease in defense production at tank industry plants, should be considered as manifestations of an objective process, i.e., a conversion transition.