It is logical that freedom is required for innovative scientific progress - and nice to think so, because it means that the free inevitably become more powerful

It is logical that freedom is required for innovative scientific progress - and nice to think so, because it means that the free inevitably become more powerful, and defeat tyranny. A built-in safety device. e.g. Einstein, escapes nazis, leads to atomics (though to his regret). If the nazis had accepted everyone, they would have been more powerful... though, I guess, not nazis. I haven't read your link yet, but I understand soviet maths developed more-or-less in parallel isolation, with some innovations on both sides - about what you'd expect. Non-isolation would have yielded greater progress.