Lessons of the Past? Technology Transfer and Russian Industrialisation in Comparative Perspective

Abstract

This paper begins with a brief consideration of general approaches to technology transfer and its impact on the processes of late development, with the focus on industrial develop ment. Section II narrows down to the manner in which industrial historians have analysed that greatly significant era of global industrialisation, 1870-1914. Here the emphasis is on the influential writing of Alexander Gerschenkron, although with modifications including those of R.P. Dore, A. Sulejewicz and others. The purpose here is to show that models of late development must fully take into account not only the process of technology transfer, but also its technical imperatives, institutional and control requirements and socio- political impacts. The next section presents a brief case study of what has been termed as the South Russia Metallurgical Project (circa 1887-1900) in order to highlight the com plexities and sequences in the Russian-Western European technical interaction during the period. The following section draws some lessons of interaction from this more empirical material, much of the latter being based on British and American engineering reports of what was happening in Russia. Section V broadly considers the comparative perspective. Finally, a concluding section discusses needed revisions in the theories of late development which have implications for more generalised models in such areas as institutional inno vation and the role of the state in the industrialisation process.