Ministries are basically of three kinds: all- 

 union, union-republic, and republic. All-union 

 ministries are established for sectors of national 

 importance and priority with no clear republic ori- 

 entation; examples are the chemical and aviation in- 

 dustries. These ministries, which are highly cen- 

 tralized in Moscow, directly administer activities 

 and facilities under their jurisdiction, regardless 

 of their geographical location. Union-republic min- 

 istries are- established for sectors where there is 

 significant intrarepublic activity. Union-republic 

 ministries may administer a few activities directly, 

 but they ordinarily operate through counterpart min- 

 istries bearing the same name in each of the repub- 

 lics. Thus the USSR Ministry of Health transmits its 

 directives for implementation by the ministries of 

 health in each republic. Legally, union-republic 

 ministries in the republic are responsible to the re- 

 public councils of ministers and legislative organs 

 as well as to their parent ministry in Moscow. Exam- 

 ples of union-republic ministries with counterpart 

 ministries in all republics are Agriculture, Con- 

 struction Materials, and Culture. Examples with min- 

 istries in only selected republics are the Coal In- 

 dustry and Ferrous Metallurgy. Republic ministries, 

 the third type, generally are concerned with ser- 

 vices, such as automotive transport or local indus- 

 try. Republic ministries are not represented in the 

 USSR Council of Ministers, but operate under the im- 

 mediate supervision of the councils of ministers and 

 legislative organs of the individual republics. 



Chairmen of state committees sit on the USSR Coun- 

 cil of Ministers and are accorded the same status as 

 ministers. State committees deal primarily with mat- 

 ters that cut across the jurisdictions of convention- 

 al departments. Those prominent state committees, 

 which significantly influence the development of 

 science and technology, include: 



1. The State Planning Committee (Gosplan) 



2. The State Committee for Science and Tech- 

 nology (GKNT) 



29 



