STANDARDIZATION: MAIN ASPECTS OF THE DEVELOPMENT (Standartyzatsiya: osnovni aspekty rozvytku)

The idea of standardization and its broad interpretation is shown by use of rich historical evidence, including accounts of Ancient Egypt and Rome, Renaissance epoch, Russia before and after Peter the Great, Western Europe (Germany, England, France) before and after the industrial revolution. The contemporary standardization is dated from the rise of mass-scale industry, that is, from the capitalism, and institutions dealing with standardization appeared at the end of XIX - beginning of XX century, when standardization was perceived as an economic requirement, not in the least due to intensive militarization, and national organizations responsible for standardization appeared in time of World War I. Detailed account of standardization in the USSR is given, which was launched with introduction of metric system of measures and weights and establishing the first central body on standardization in 1925. In 1968, the USSR was the first in the world practice to develop and approve the so called 'State Standardization System'. The world experiences in standardization were subject to concern in the USSR, an evidence of which is the resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR 'On Organization of Work on Standardization in the USSR'. Works on standardization were suspended with the breakdown of the USSR.