Gvishiani: U.S.-Soviets face common enemy

The most popular Soviet official in U.S. industrial and probably academic circles is a social scientist named Jermen M. Gvishiani. Wherever there's a major commercial deal to be made between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, Gvishiani is there to orchestrate it for the Soviets as deputy chairman of the State Committee for Science & Technology. That is not all. As a son-in-law of Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin, Gvishiani is privy to the inner forces of Soviet power struggles. As director of the Institute of Cybernetic Studies in the Soviet Academy of Sciences, he is one of the top figures in the Soviet science structure. Those seeking clues to the future of Soviet-U.S. scientific and technological relations are wise to listen to the words of Gvishiani. C&EN sought out Gvishiani during the United Nations Conference on Science & Technology for Development, held recently in Vienna, where he headed a large but rather muted Soviet delegation. ...