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Soviet soldier taking a photograph of another soldier in Red Square, Moscow, 1959

Eastern Europe

Soviet Union

Soviet Nuclear History

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Soviet Union. Communist Party. Central Committee (CPSU CC). Politburo

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Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)

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North America

United States

The Atomic Energy Commission of the United Nations meets on June 14, 1946.

Baruch Plan for International Control of Atomic Energy

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Molotov, Vyacheslav Mikhaylovich

1890- 1986

Ukrainian Motherland Monument, Kyiv

Eastern Europe

Ukraine

Ukrainian Nuclear History

A photo of Joseph Stalin from 1943

Stalin, Joseph

1879- 1953

Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova on a Soviet stamp

Space Race

Portrait of Mao Zedong on Tiananmen Gate in Beijing, China, 1972.

East Asia

China

Sino-Soviet Relations

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Kurchatov, Igor V.

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Nikita Khrushchev at the UNGA, 1962.

Khrushchev, Nikita Sergeevich

1894- 1971

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Soviet Union. Council of Ministers

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Pyongyang photographed in March 20212

East Asia

North Korea

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September 28, 1942	Decree No. 2352 cc of Ukrainian State Committee of Defence This famous, de-classified document officially started the Soviet atomic project aimed at producing the nuclear bomb. The second point of this document orders the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences to establish a plan for the project of Uranium enrichment. F. Lange, a scientist from the Ukraine Institute of Physics and Technology, was appointed as head of this project because he worked previously on theoretical aspects of Uranium enrichment.
February 1941	Letter from V.A. Maslov to People’s Commissar of Defence of USSR, 'About Necessity to Organize Activities in Using of Atomic Energy in the Military Goals' In this letter from Victor Maslov to People's Commisar of Defence, Marshal Timoshenko, Maslov makes one final attempt to persuade Soviet leadership to start a military nuclear program, despite the strong criticism from leading Moscow scientists toward the idea.
February 1941	Conclusion of National Institute of Chemical Studies of Soviet National Committee of Defence on Invention of UIPhT Fellows Which Was Sent to Agency of Military Chemical Defense In this document, leading Soviet scientists criticize the idea of Kharkov physicists to use Uranium in military goals, because they do not believe it is possible to realize nuclear fission in the current practical conditions faced. The Soviet National Committee of Defence received these skeptical assessments in 1941 and decided not to develop the military nuclear program.
December 17, 1959	Resolution No. 1384-615 on the Establishment of the Office of Chief Commander of Rocket Forces within the Armed Forces of the USSR Resolution outlining the responsibilities of the new Chief Commander of Rocket (or Strategic Missile) Forces.
May 13, 1946	Decree of the USSR Council of Ministers, 'Questions of Reactive Weaponry' Council of Ministers decree on the formation of the postwar Soviet missile industry.
January 21, 1959	Soviet Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 'Draft for Transmission to Various Heads of Government Regarding of A. I. Mikoyan's Conversations with Senior US Government Leaders' After A.I Mikoyan's trip to the United States and his conversations with senior US government leaders, the USSR MFA submitted a draft of confidential information to be sent to the heads of government of several states. The content of the instructions to be told to the foreign leaders includes discussion of the German problem and Berlin, the problem of disarmament and a halt to nuclear testing, the Near and Middle East, the Far East, and other issues.
February 2, 1956	Note Containing an Assessment of the Parameters of a Device with Yields of 150 Megatons and One Billion Tons of TNT A report on the material requirements and design specifications of nuclear devices with yields of 150MT and one milliard tons TNT between Soviet officials. Specifically, the use of lithium-6 deuteride and natural uranium in varying degrees is discussed.
April 21, 1956	Note by the CC CPSU Regarding the Arming of R-7 Rockets with a Hydrogen Charge on the Basis of the Principle of Radiation Implosion Proposal on the development of the R-7 rocket to carry a new RDS-6 type device between Soviet officials in the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The updated R-7 rocket with RDS-6 device was approved to be designed lighter and given a bigger yield.
August 24, 1955	Report by N.M Emanuel, 'Regarding the Nature of the Fallout Path of the Hydrogen Bomb Detonated on 1 March 1954 at Bikini [Atoll]' Report by N.M. Emanuel on the U.S. Castle Bravo test in the Marshall Islands. The report surmises from fallout data that the bomb used a fission-fusion-fission design, and that the bomb contained a larger than normal amount of fissile material which induced a thermonuclear reaction.
July 1, 1955	Report by the Commission on the Review of the Scientific Principles of Atomic Compression and the Data on the Experimental Device RDS-37 A report on the design of the RDS-37 nuclear device and the implications of radiation implosion induced nuclear fusion on weapons design.