Khrushchev and the Arms Race: Soviet Interests in Arms Control and Disarmament, 1954-1964

After 1956 estimated military expenditures started to increase rapidly: by 1962 defense outlays were about 40 per cent higher than in 1957 (see Figure 3.1, p. 52). In 1960 and 1961 an attempt may have been made to stabilize defense outlays, but it was abandoned, perhaps in response to the first Kennedy budget. The principal cause of this observed increase in spending was undoubtedly the accelerated effort in the development of rocket technology; ICBM's received great and increasing emphasis, while IRBM's and tactical missiles probably retained an important place in the Soviet advanced-weapons program.

Antimissile technology may also have played an increasing role in escalating the costs. The development of advanced aircraft, while de-emphasized in Soviet military doctrine, in all likelihood continued to play a role throughout the current period although one of decreasing importance. The proportion of total defense outlays devoted to the procurement of conventional equipment for the ground forces was certainly

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