Science and Technology Intelligence in the Polish People’s Republic: Organization, Methods of Work and Efficiency
(Wyniki pracy wywiadu naukowo-technicznego MSW PRL 1971— 1989. Оpracował i wstępem poprzedził Mirosław Sikora. Instytut Pamięci Narodowej, Komisja Ścigania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu, Oddział w Katowicach. Katowice—Warszawa, 2019. 352 s.)
Keywords:
scientific and technical intelligence, scientific and technological potential, technological gap, scientific meeting, industrial espionage.Abstract
The author of the reviewed book is Miroslav Sikora, a Polish historian working since 2005 in the Institute of National Memory, its regional branch in the city of Katowice (Silesia). In the documents (reports) set out in the book, a reader can discover information on what the Science & Technology Intelligence did and what benefits it provided for the Polish state in 1970—1990. The book’s purpose is to make scientific use of the documents of Polish special services, deemed important by the author, classified in the past and disclosed several years ago. The Science & Technology Intelligence (STI) of the Polish People’s Republic is a sector of activities of the Polish state in 1950—1990, aimed at obtaining information about science and technology advancements and production processes in other countries with the purpose of performance enhancement in similar segments of the Polish economy. Although a part of information used to be obtained by the Polish STI by legal ways, this process was pursued by large illicitly, by bribing businessmen and public officials of other countries, sometimes by blackmail or compromise of necessary persons. The book author shows that transactions with informants, often made beyond the boundaries of Poland, required heightened caution due to the existing threat of their detection by special service of NATO countries. STI had the lead even in collecting information on military technologies, although the latter had never been as important in STI missions as civil ones. According to Miroslav Sikora, now it is impossible to evaluate the STI’s contribution in the economic development of the Polish People’s Republic, just like the contribution of STI in any other country. Although STI of the Polish People’s Republic brought the earnings reaching several dozen (in 1950—60s) and, later, several hundred (in 1970—80s) million USD, STI activities failed to bridge the overall gap between R&D and industry in Poland and highly developed countries due to a number of reasons elaborated on in the book.
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