"Based on collaborative research by Russian and British scholars in the hitherto secret archives of the Soviet government, the party and the armed forces, this book is a pioneering investigation of the economic dynamics and social and political significance of Soviet defence production. It examines the origins of the Soviet defence drive in the internal tensions and threat perceptions of the interwar period. It reveals how the advent of new weapons such as the atomic bomb and the ballistic missile brought science and production into a new and even more secretive relationship, and how Soviet industry, the army and the security organs vied for control over the defence production process."--BOOK JACKET.