The Military and Higher Education in the USSR

Abstract

The military dimension of the Soviet higher-educational system is difficult to explore because of the striking scarcity of published evidence. There is a military presence at all universities and higher-educational institutes. It takes diverse forms, including special military departments and an elaborate system for the military-patriotic education of students. Research is undertaken for defense-related clients, although such research represents a modest share of the total military research and development effort. In general, the relationship with the military is harmonious, but this tradition of harmony, reflecting broader social attitudes toward the military in Soviet society, has come under strain in recent years as a result of changes in conscription policy. In the new conditions of glasnost, discontents have been able to find open expression and this may remain the pattern for the future.

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References

1. Vestnik Vysshei Shkoly, 1987, no. 6, p. 5.

2. Vestnik Vysshei Shkoly, 1980, no. 5, p. 46.

3. Sovetskaya Rossiya, 21 May 1988. See also Yu. Ryzhov, “Material' naya baza inzhenernogo vuza,”Kommunist, 1986, no. 13, p. 59.

4. Evidence is sparse, but an indication is provided by the fact that in the year 1982 the VUZy of the Ministry of Higher Education received just over 500 computers of all types. Vestnik Vysshei Shkoly, 1983, no. 6, p. 10.

5. Podgotovka inzhenerov v Moskovskom vysshem tekhnicheskom uchilishche imeni N.E. Baumana (Moscow: Vsshaya Shkola, 1983), p. 16.

6. Pravda, 30 Apr. 1988.

7. Vestnik Vysshei Shkoly, 1980, no. 12, p. 32.

8. Voennye Znaniya, 1988, no. 1, p. 31.

9. Voennye Znaniya, 1987, no. 7, p. 82.

10.

10. Vedomosti Verkhovnogo Soveta SSSR, 1980, no. 52, decrees no. 1121 and 1122, dated 17 Dec. 1980.

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11. Sovetskaya Rossiya, 2 Nov. 1984.

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13. David Holloway , The Soviet Union and the Arms Race (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1983), p. 162.

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14. Literaturnaya Gazeta, 1987, no. 20, p. 11.

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15. Krasnaya Zvezda, 16 May 1987.

16.

16. Literaturnaya Gazeta, 1987, no. 23, p. 11.

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17. The proceedings of the meeting were shown on Soviet television in January 1988. See BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, SU/0053B/1-4,20 Jan. 1988.

18.

18. Krasnaya Zvezda, 1 June 1988.

19.

19. Izvestiya, 21 Apr. 1988.

20.

20. Ibid. To make matters worse, the author observes, in the military departments of the VUZy of Estonia there are almost no Estonian staff. It is likely that the same situation is found in other republics.

21.

21. See Voennye Znaniya, 1988, no. 1, p. 35.

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22. Vestnik Vysshei Shkoly, 1987, no. 6, p. 21.

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26. See S. I. Plaksii , “Neformaly—Synov'ya ili pas'ynki?” Politicheskoe Obrazovanie, 1988, no. 7, p. 87.