The focus of this study is on the formation of the Military Scientific Society (VNO) at the Military Academy of the Red Army, which took place in the first half of the 1920s in Soviet Russia. The study analyzes the functioning of the VNO in the absence of a clear strategy for cooperation between the government and society. Despite limited funding and lack of direct support from the party and Soviet authorities, the VNO demonstrated its effectiveness in achieving its goals, acting as a catalyst for the country's development. Special attention is paid to the analysis of the patterns of interaction between the NGO and government agencies, and its role as a “security buffer” for the government. The paper proves the viability and expediency of the model of public-state organization that emerged in the early 1920s.