The air force increased the size of its strategic bombing forces, spending huge sums on new bombers and missiles. Weapons spending in 1992 was approximately 75% less than in 1988. Flemings classic the cold war and its origins 19171960 i traced the story of the attempt to destroy the worlds first communist revolution 14 nations attacked the soviet union attempting to carve out territory and crush the revolution. List of books and articles about soviet military history. American military history 252 with the new emphasis on massive retaliation, the armed forces took on a new look as the 1950s progressed. Determining adequate levels of military spending and sustaining the burden of. References to the economic data can be found in jari eloranta, national defense, in the oxford encyclopedia of economic history, edited by joel mokyr, 3033 oxford. But as the us spent trillions of dollars on weapons and war after 2000, boosting its share of global military spending from 38% to 48% by 2008, both allies and potential enemies again responded in kind. The database is updated annually, which may include updates to data for any of the years included in the database. The years 191821 saw defeats for the red army in the polishsoviet war 191921 and in independence wars for estonia. How could the usa remain the strongest military power of. The soviet economy and the red army, 19301945 by walter s.
Analyzing soviet defense programs, 19511990 the national. David glantz examines the soviet study of war, the reemergence of the operation level and its connection with deep battle, the evolution of the soviet theory of operations in depth before 1941, and its refinement and application in the european theatre and the far east between. In 1918 the new government formed the red army, which then defeated its various internal enemies in the russian civil war of 191722. The economic impact of soviet military spending er ir 753 keywords. During the cold war, when the united states intelligence efforts were focused on the soviet union, one of the primary tasks of the central intelligence agency was to estimate soviet defense spending. The increase in military spending is another argument that caused stagnation in the soviet union during the period. Finally, the collapse of the soviet union alleviated some of these tensions and. The centrally planned economy was inefficient but stable. Our community welcomes everyone from around the world to discuss world history, historical periods, and themes in history military history, archaeology, arts and culture, and history in books and movies.
After a 25 percent reduction in annual spending over the past six years, heritages diem nguyen salmon called on obama to boost the defense budget to. In the process, the authors chronicle the development of a significant. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. At this time soviet society was far more militarized than most other european countries. The soviet union, he said, would have to undertake internal accounting and price reforms before publishing its true military budget by 1989 or 1990. For those interested in soviet or economic history. If youre interested in wwii, i usually recommend ivans war by catherine merridale. For instance, in a book titled how the revolution was. Best enjoyed if you listen to the soviet anthem best anthem ever at the same time. Keefer harold brown 19771981 offsetting the soviet military challenge. The military history of the soviet union began in the days following the 1917 october revolution that brought the bolsheviks to power.
The roots of project star gate go back to 1972, when a classified report made waves within the u. Ww2 and soviet military history books collect russia. What percent of gdp was the ussr spending on the military. The difficulties in estimating soviet and russian military spending are well known. Soyuz sovetskikh sotsialisticheskikh respublik, former republic. Throughout their history, the estimates of real growth in gnp rested on the premise that. Military burdens milbur of the united states and the united kingdom, and the soviet military spending as a percentage of the us military spending me, 18161993 sources. Leonid brezhnev became first secretary of the communist party in the soviet union in late 1964 after a plot to oust khrushchev. The soviet union was one of the preeminent military powers of the 20th century, and this compendium of essays by military scholars explains how a ragtag wouldbe world power that collapsed in disarray during world war i, first fought a complex civil war for five years, then built a military force capable of defeating the.
Failed attempts at reform, a standstill economy, and the success of the united states against the soviet unions forces in the war. Soviet union couldnt keep up with american spending on military. The russian revolution of 1917 terrified the capitalist world. Military spending by soviets slows the new york times. In contrast to historical writing, economic investigations of the possible long run. The sipri military expenditure database contains consistent time series on the military spending of countries for the period 19492019. The fight against subversion at home mirrored a growing concern with the soviet threat abroad. Noren, who spent much of their long cia careers estimating and. The author seeks to identify alter evaluations presented in some recently published books and discusses. The posts ive written about soviet economic history, collected in one place. Studies in russian and east european history and society. The history of the soviet union from 1982 through 1991 spans the period from leonid brezhnevs death and funeral until the dissolution of the soviet union.
Peek inside thousands of soviet childrens books from. Defence spending and defence industry in the 1930s. The soviet defence industry complex from stalin to krushchev j. World order and the lessons for global power new york.
Due to the years of soviet military buildup at the expense of domestic development, economic growth stagnated. Soviet military power was an annual book released by the pentagon that explained the alleged growth and technical abilities of the soviet armed forces. Because this information was used for planning by the u. Soviet russia in the 1930s by sheila fitzpatrick, stalin. Increased military spending during the cold war brought.
Its a wellresearched, fascinating look at how the soviet union was affected and reacted to the german invasion and the four years of conflict that followed. Noren, who spent much of their long cia careers estimating and studying soviet defense spending, provide a closer look at those estimates and consider how and why they were made. Founded in 2006, historum is a history forum dedicated to history discussions and historical events. In november 1983, during natos able archer military exercises, the jittery soviet government became convinced that, under cover of the exercises, a u. This contrasted with a background of low military spending in most other european countries where, after world war i, it was. For a young soviet man in the 1980s, the chances were high that he would be obliged to serve for at least two years in the soviet armed forces.
The book is unabashedly an insider accountdedicated to those who worked with integrity. Soviet russian military theory and practice routledge. In its annual report to congress, the pentagon said that american military spending in recent years had. We feature orders, medals, ids and other attributes of power. Extensive price list for thousands of authentic items representing history of soviet empire from 1917 to 1991 with emphasis on early years and war with nazi germany. The soviet union was one of the preeminent military powers of the 20th century, and this compendium of essays by military scholars explains how a ragtag wouldbe world power that collapsed in disarray during world war i, first fought a complex civil war for five years, then built a military force capable of defeating the germans in world war ii. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. This episode throws light less on the supposed burdens of military spending than on the burdens of secrecy.
Major challenges include the lack of transparency in officially published. Almost all of russias arms production is for sales to foreign governments, and procurement of major end items by the russian military had all but stopped. Did reagans military buildup really lead to victory in. Fred kaplan, in his book the wizards of armageddon, describes the use of. While you wait get immediate ebook access when you order a print book.
The soviet military budget was of significance in two aspects. Until 1989 the communist party indirectly controlled all levels of government. The soviet union was the first state to be based on marxist socialism see also marxism. In this ninth volume of the secretaries of defense. Engerman on firth and noren, soviet defense spending. High military spending and continual preparation for war were already ingrained in soviet militaryeconomic policy in the 1930s. The soviet union does not conceal its expenditures for defense, because all mankind knows of the peaceable character of the soviet government. The cia also tells us that the soviet union is spending 1214 percent of its gnp in comparison with americas 56 percent and that soviet military expenditures have been growing faster than those of the united states over the past decade.
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