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Soviet Nuclear History

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

Eastern Europe

Soviet Union

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

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Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)

Ukrainian Nuclear History

Ukrainian Motherland Monument, Kyiv

Eastern Europe

Ukraine

Aerial view of National Mall

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

A photo of Joseph Stalin from 1943

Stalin, Joseph

1879- 1953

Chernobyl nuclear accident

Ukraine

Chernobyl

Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova on a Soviet stamp

Space Race

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

East Asia

China

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Kurchatov, Igor V.

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Pyongyang photographed in March 20212

East Asia

North Korea

Sino-Soviet Relations

Nikita Khrushchev at the UNGA, 1962.

Khrushchev, Nikita Sergeevich

1894- 1971

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Soviet Union. Council of Ministers

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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.
June 30, 1955	Letter from Iu. B. Khariton to N. I. Pavlov Regarding the Testing of a Nuclear Weapon at Object 700 The letter describes geographic, safety, and technical considerations taken into account when selecting a test site for the RDS-37 hydrogen bomb. Specifically, the letter highlights that a testing field should be chosen based on the existence of population centers, the terrain, and the main wind patterns.
May 26, 1955	Proposal Concerning the Testing of an Experimental System for the Verification of the Casing Design Proposal to develop a test warhead using radiation implosion to induce a thermonuclear reaction. The proposal emphasizes that the device will be compatible with the existing R-7 ICBM delivery system.
April 21, 1955	Letter to Z. P. Zaveniagin, 'Regarding the Choice of Devices for Strategic Use' Report describing the relative merits of the RDS-27 and the SD nuclear weapon designs for use on the R-7 "Semyorka" ICBM.
March 1, 1955	Pravda Newspaper Article on the Decision of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet Concerning the USSR CM [Council of Ministers] Pravda announces the decisions made by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet.
February 28, 1955	Report by the Measurement Lab of the USSR Academy of Science, 'On the Properties of the Atomic Bombs Detonated on the Marshal Islands in 1954' Soviet scientific intelligence report on U.S. nuclear weapons testing on the Marshall Islands in 1954. This report concludes that the Ivy Mike and Castle nuclear detonations were thermonuclear based on gamma ray spectroscopy of fission fragments collected by Soviet aircraft over the USSR and PRC.
June 21, 1946	Soviet Council of Ministers Resolution, No. 1286-525, On Development of Soviet Atomic Weapons Resolution outlining the work of the newly established Design Bureau No.11 (KB-11). Atomic bombs are referred to in the resolution as “jet engines S,” in two versions, S-1 and S-2 (abbreviated as RDS-1 and RDS-2). RDS-1 meant the analog of the first U.S. plutonium-239 implosion type atomic bomb tested on 16 July 1945 in New Mexico RDS-2 signified the analog of the uranium-235 gun type bomb exploded over Hiroshima on 6 August 1945.