The Soviet Union Once Banned Computing

Soviet officials initially labeled the field of cybernetics as a dangerous Western pseudoscience. Because of this ideological hostility, early efforts to build electronic brains faced significant political roadblocks.

During the early Cold War, Soviet authorities feared that automated decision-making and computing systems contradicted their rigid political doctrine. It was not until the Khrushchev era that the government finally recognized the strategic necessity of computer production. This sudden pivot allowed the development of the MESM, one of the first electronic computers in continental Europe. It is a striking example of how political ideology can briefly stall the march of technological progress.