During its initial decades, computing emerged as a key technology of the Cold War. Due to a largely unidirectional flow of information into, but not out of, the Soviet Union, Western policy analysts who were wary of the growing Soviet computing prowess sought intelligence from numerous sources. Based on an examination of trip reports from Western computer experts who had visited the Soviet Union, this article looks at the interaction between Western computer specialists and their Soviet counterparts during the height of the Cold War. It describes how these interactions helped to shape and confront American perceptions of Soviet computing and the threats it posed to the West. The previously unexplored first-hand perspectives offered in these largely forgotten trip reports help to illuminate the West's fascination and fear of computer technology behind the Iron Curtain.
['Nicholas Lewis']
Peering through the Curtain: Soviet Computing through the Eyes of Western Experts