> What do you mean? They didn't have world-class scientists? The did in fact have some, of course it was a huge place, but the theft of nuclear secrets is well

> What do you mean? They didn't have world-class scientists? The did in fact have some, of course it was a huge place, but the theft of nuclear secrets is well documented, as are other episodes of industrial tech. In fact the Mitrokhin Archives[1] revealed that industrial espionage was one of the primary purposes of Soviet spying. For example in 1971 Agent TONDA gave the KBG two volumes of documents on micro electronic components developed in Tokyo for US aerospace use. > Which grain was stolen - and by whom - from Ukraine (you mean, Ukrainian SSR?) I'm referring of course to The Holodomor[2] which was executed at gun point and overseen by Moscow via the NKVD. The whole thing was used by Stalin to clear our rebellious Ukrainians and to fund industrialization. What I'm saying is that a lot of touted Soviet achievements were built on a foundation of theft, slavery, and ethnic cleansing unrivaled since WWII. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitrokhin_Archive https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitrokhin_Archive [2]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holodomor https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holodomor