ABSTRACT
Productivity, industrial output and growth have all suffered as the roubles that might have gone into modernizing agriculture and old industrial plants and improving roads and railways have been pumped into defence. The Soviet system of central planning, set up in the 1930s in part to ensure central political control and a strong defence for the Soviet state, is tailor-made to suit the Soviet military establishment. A military-industrial commission acts as general trouble-shooter to make sure the generals get what they need. The assertive Soviet foreign policy of 1970s, using military capabilities and weapons production lines to extend Soviet Union's military and diplomatic reach into Asia was often direct challenge to US influence and allies. Defence remains the Soviet Union's highest priority, even if also the greatest economic burden.
