The Development and Use of Standards in the Soviet Union

The development of standards in the Soviet Union is compared with that of the United States, not on technical contents, but by standards making organizations. Standards are defined as potentially legal documents, scientific in origin, technical in language, commercial and economic in purpose, social and 'political' in results. The State Committee on Standards, Measures and Measuring Instruments of the Council of Ministers is that the apex of a national pyramid of standards committees established at three principal levels, Republic, industrial branch and plant. The State Committee for Standards also has Research Institutes and Public Relations offices. Technical and scientific aspects of standards with their strong impact on public welfare and social progress are best handled by organizations which enjoy national confidence. Great belief and faith in the powers of standardization are obvious in the USSR. (Author) Presented at the meeting on Progress in Soviet Science, USSR System for Standards and Norms, held in Charlottesville, Va., on May 72.