An acquaintance of mine (a professor of Russian and Soviet History at Moscow State University, who headed the Party of Anerchists during Perestroika -- who were pretty influential, by the way -- who has served as an advisor at various levels in the Soviet and Russian governments) says that in the 1980s Soviet computer technology was as good as Japanese if you're talking about things like guided weapons systems. But they never bothered to develop things like PCs, because on a PC you can do things like print political pamphlets ...
Just leaving work -- think I'll go take a walk down to the statue of Karl Marx across from the Bolshoi. Somebody has always laid flowers on it. I'd like to see that in Washington, D.C.
Chris Doss The Russia Journal