27. The Technology Gap That Worried the Kremlin
In 1941, the Nazis launched a horrific surprise attack against the USSR that almost brought the communist state to an end. In its aftermath, Soviet and Russian leadership, pathologically suspicious of foreigners’ intentions at the best of times, became outright paranoid. The Soviets survived by the skin of their teeth, before they clawed their way back up, and on to eventual victory. The experience left an indelible mark. Ever since, throughout the Cold War and into the present, the powers that be in Moscow have feared that another sudden attack from the West would once again ruin them. A sudden attack that might accomplish what the Germans had almost pulled off in WWII.
From the perspective of Moscow, which habitually assumes that others would naturally do what it would do in their shoes, what made such an attack possible – and thus probable – was the technological gap between the USSR and the West. During the Cold War, the Soviets had pulled off some great scientific and technological accomplishments, such as the first satellite and animal in space, and the first man and woman to orbit the planet. Still, as time went by, it became clear that Soviet technology seriously lagged behind that of the West.