[rdtsc]

> The point is that they didn't suddenly realize they were behind and on such occasions looked to imitate foreign technology, shamefaced and with great ideological trepidation,

Bashir Rameev and Victor Glushkov disagreed from https://www.sigcis.org/files/SIGCISMC2010_001.pdf

They wrote that:

> Copying foreign work excludes the possibility of utilizing our own collective experience of computer research, and in the immediate future, will hinder our ability to employ new principles. This will bring the development of computer technology in our nation to an end

They wanted to co-develop a new system with ICL. But you're right, the political and military leaders where the ones wanting to quickly copy the IBM-360 to catch up.

> Obvious to whom counts. It's not like every Lada came with a 'licensed from Fiat' sticker on the bumper.

They did a better one, and renamed a whole city where the cars were built after the Palmiro Togliatti https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tolyatti