USSR "Nuclear Project": Some Manager Aspects

Abstract

The main goal of the article was to study the organizational structure, principles of the control system and motivation of groups of creators of nuclear weapons in the USSR in the 40-50-s of the twentieth century. The article shows the political situation that preceded the period of creating nuclear weapons in the USSR, the system of organizing R&D of the US military-industrial complex in the 40s and 70s, the retaliatory steps taken by the USSR leadership to create nuclear weapons of the defense triad, the organizational structure for creating nuclear weapons in the USSR in 40-50-s of the XX century. The weapons production management system created at that time subsequently demonstrated outstanding results in other projects. It is concluded that the success of the “atomic project” was possible, including due to the principles that make up the so-called “Russian management system”, which the organizers and executors of the project, individually and collectively, perceived as their own. The main principles of the management system that emerged during the implementation of the project: a high level of national-state ambitions; mobilization and redistribution of resources in key areas; the creation of centralized control, and, if necessary, control and repressive structures; creation of parallel management structures; autonomy of grassroots units; widespread use of third-party administrative, intellectual and technological resources.