Military preparations and technological progress: Soviet nuclear project case

The article studies the Soviet nuclear project’s contribution to the technological progress stimulation. It is noted that owing to the dedicated policy of the mid 1940s - late 1950s the country managed a shift from the overtaking research model to the innovative one, which was a factor in the transformation of the Soviet Union into a military and political «superpower». Moreover, the use of technologies developed for the nuclear project allowed the USSR to assume leadership positions in a number of research, technology and industry fields, however this success did not in itself guarantee the technological dynamism of the Soviet economy.