The Soviet Union’s acquisition of Western technology after Stalin: Some thoughts on people and connections

Like other late-developing countries, the Soviet Union got part of its economic growth from the absorption and diffusion of technologies already in use in more advanced nations. During the Cold War this was an especially contentious process. My aim in this chapter is to give an account of some of the actors and actions involved in technology transfer in that period, both those actors and actions involved in cooperation across the East-West divide and some of what might euphemistically be called unilateral activity – in other words spying.