tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25995363.post4424342554402661213..comments2023-06-20T01:49:29.525-07:00Comments on Blogging About the Unthinkable: Sovietology: No Appeals to "Common Sense" AllowedSovietologisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09099598091505738702noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25995363.post-50813154647497555632008-10-31T19:11:00.000-07:002008-10-31T19:11:00.000-07:00Although I haven't seen the original documents mys...Although I haven't seen the original documents myself, I understand that the Soviets constructed and tested a dummy version of the Mark-III implosion mechanism (sans plutonium pit) in 1947, and analysis of this reassured them that their espionage windfall wasn't some kind of American counterintelligence plant. From what I understand, Soviet weapons design capability caught up to the US relatively rapidly (I'd have to insert a LOT of caveats into that statement, though). The first serially-produced Soviet bombs appear to have been about equivalent to the then-mainstay of the American arsenal, the Mark-VI, and the semi-thermonuclear "layer cake" device they tested in 1953 proved that Soviet weapons designers were more than capable of very original designs. Still, Soviet delivery capabilities were pretty minimal until the late 1950s, and the American stockpile grew far faster than the Soviets' throughout the decade. This contrasts strongly with the extreme paranoia of Soviet nuclear attack found in the United States in those years.Sovietologisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09099598091505738702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25995363.post-31363611853206697932008-10-28T09:21:00.000-07:002008-10-28T09:21:00.000-07:00Good analysis. We might also add that the Soviets ...Good analysis. We might also add that the Soviets frequently distrusted the intelligence that came through from espionage (If I remember correctly, Beria could be quite paranoid about the authenticity of the material).Wavefunctionhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14993805391653267639noreply@blogger.com