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Short abstract

The paper explores the evolution of biological expertise during and after the Soviet era within one of the Eastern Bloc’s primary hubs of military biological research and challenges thus some of common misconceptions about military biological research in the Eastern Bloc

Long abstract

This paper explores the evolution of biological expertise during and after the Soviet era within one of the Eastern Bloc’s primary hubs of military biological research: the Biological Defense Department (BDD) Těchonín in the Czech Republic. Drawing on insights of former BDD scientists, their personal archives and a review of secondary literature, the study traces the evolution of biodefence expertise cultivated at the BDD Těchonín with a focus on the changing purpose, technologies, and scientific networks of the facility from 1970s till 2000s. The paper shows how changing political priorities and scenarios of biological threats shaped the work of the BDD Těchonín, while the core technologies and methodologies of biodefence research have remained. It also describes the transformation of scientific networks and modes of knowledge production from secrecy and isolation to open international collaborations after 1990. Through this case study, the article challenges three common misconceptions about military biological research in the Eastern Bloc: that it was mainly offensive, fully directed from Moscow, and largely imitative of Western science. Instead, the Těchonín case reveals a more complex and autonomous trajectory of nationally grounded, defense-oriented research that generated a durable foundation of biodefence expertise in the post-Soviet era.