The Soviet Internet That Was Killed by a Meeting
Tech & AI12 min

The Soviet Internet That Was Killed by a Meeting

In the nineteen sixties, Soviet mathematician Viktor Glushkov designed OGAS, a nationwide computer network intended to manage the planned economy. The project was derailed by ministerial rivalries and institutional infighting in a decisive nineteen seventy Kremlin meeting.

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Show notes

Mounting paperwork nearly forced the entire Soviet adult population to become planners by nineteen eighty.

Soviet cybernetics pioneer Anatoly Kitov was expelled from the Communist Party for proposing a shared computer network.

The nationwide OGAS network aimed to replace physical currency with an entirely cashless electronic ledger.

Projected costs ballooned to over one hundred billion rubles, rivaling Soviet military and space budgets.

The Politburo killed the unified network in nineteen seventy to protect ministry turf and Party control.

Rival ministries built incompatible digital silos that hoarded data and relied on widespread misreporting.

In this episode
  1. 01Intro1 min
  2. 02The Paper Crisis and the Cybernetic Dream3 min
  3. 03The Architecture of an Algorithmic State3 min
  4. 04The October First Kremlin Showdown3 min
  5. 05Departmental Fiefdoms and the Fragmented Legacy3 min
  6. 06Outro1 min
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