ABSTRACT
Leading Soviet scientists have joined a chorus of emigre voices critical of the USSR's performance in science and technology. Presentations by Soviet scientists who want to "change everything," or feature articles about accelerators that "can't shoot straight" and giant telescopes with mirrors that vibrate too much, are as one-sided as were the claims of Soviet superiority following the launching of the first sputnik in 1957. To a large extent, negative assessments of Soviet science reflect the appalling lack of diffusion of technology in the USSR. The Soviet Union's science system developed during the first industrial revolution, at a time when industrialization itself was only in its infancy in the Russian empire. Judging diffusion to be the most serious drawback in the Soviet science system is likely to be controversial. Given that systems tend to seek equilibrium, the important question is whether Soviet reformers can alter the science system to alleviate its negative consequences–the weaknesses–without simultaneously undermining its strengths.
