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They do have 1+B people long ago. Science and technology need the soil of IP protection, justice system and other core values (that CCP does not respect or care) to grow. You think talents would like to stay in a closed system like that? Think about it again after checking out situation in Hong Kong last year.

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The USSR managed to be the #2 scientific power without any of that, so I'm pretty sure that's just disguised fukuyamaism.

Only in some science branches, e.g. nuclear physics. But not microprocessors.

Also, scientific power is not the same as developed market. USSR was scientifically strong, but economically weak, ask ex-Soviet citizens how the 1980s looked like - an era of queues for basic necessities.

The Soviet Union was still the #2 economy too. And while it was behind in microprocessors, it was ahead in other branches, for example phage therapy and some fields of metallurgy. So it is correct to say that it was #2.

Per what measure? Are you counting the United States and Western Europe as the #1 economy collectively?

Using either GNP or GDP, the USSR was the State with the second biggest economy for most of its existence.

Sure, if you believe the figures published by the USSR's government.

With around the same population as the US too.

Indeed, it was only very slightly more populous than the US.

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