Soviet Defence Costs—the Unquantifiable Burden?

Abstract

Realistic appraisals of the level and sustamability of Soviet defence efforts and the burden that these place on the Soviet economy are crucial to both Western and Soviet security debates and to defence and foreign policy considerations. Yet, official figures on Soviet military spending are notoriously inadequate. This article addresses some of the problems associated with official Soviet, US and NATO presentations, and then proceeds to survey more recent academic work on the topic—presenting results, caveats and remaining questions. It explains the sometimes debatable premises and methodological uncertainties and approaches that lead different analysts to different conclusions. In reviewing the specialist debate the article seeks to clarify outstanding issues and thus help chart the course of future research.