Home – Home – Jornals – Region: Economics and Sociology 2024 number 1

This paper aims to provide a historical reconstruction of the reasons, preparations, and initial stages involved in creating the Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences. It explores both objective and subjective factors that contributed to the success of its organizational design. The central hypothesis posits that the establishment of the SB USSR AS aligned with the authorities’ chosen strategy for developing productive forces and their geopolitical priorities. Through a critical analysis of numerous sources, including published documents, this hypothesis is substantiated. The study shows that subjective factors played a major role in project implementation, namely the extensive coalition supporting the project and the significant powers granted to project developers, especially in human resource management. Contrary to the prevailing notion that the human element had a conflict-free role in shaping the SB USSR AS, our research challenges this idea. It chronicles the progression of the idea to establish a fundamental science center in the eastern part of the country and how expertise in this domain was accumulated. Moreover, the article reveals a departure from the conventional separation of science and higher education norms at that time, showcasing how Siberia embodied the opposite concept. Examining the creation of the SB USSR AS provides valuable insights into national science and technology policymaking, spatial development policy, and the crafting of strategic documents across various levels and purposes.