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don't overestimate Soviet competence. Soviet system was completely submersed in the sea of utter incompetence, with occasional pockets of competence here and t
by vasilipupkin 11y ago
don't overestimate Soviet competence. Soviet system was completely submersed in the sea of utter incompetence, with occasional pockets of competence here and there
- marshray 11y agoIt's more about "how can we waste their time" than it is about competence.
- noobermin 11y agoI don't know, I can't speak for their military leaders, but I've read Soviet physics papers and they had (funded and educated) some solid scientists.
- golergka 11y agoPhysics as a field doesn't have the same pressures and people aspiring to it as intelligence military analytics.
- varjag 11y agoAlso in physics, you can't get away with politicking and reading the Party plenary speeches alone. That nuke better has to work and is easily verifiable: Beria, the head of Soviet secret police, personally compared the mushroom cloud photo of the U.S. test to the Soviet one, to ensure the bomb was copied correctly.
- kls 11y agoWhile I agree intel and physics are apples to oranges, the soviets had a pretty good intelligence arm and quite capable analytics. The soviets where very good at Human Intelligence: http://sputniknews.com/military/20150928/1027670037/kgb-cia-agents-outing.html http://sputniknews.com/military/20150928/1027670037/kgb-cia-...
- ild 11y agoDon't underestimate either. Soviet/Russian rocket engines are still better than American.