Soviet atomic bomb project

The Soviet project to develop an atomic bomb began during World War II in the Soviet Union. They tested their first nuclear weapon in 1949.

The beginnings

Joseph Stalin was first informed of American nuclear research because of a letter sent to him in April 1942 by Georgii Flerov, who pointed out that nothing was being published in the physics journals by Americans, British, or Germans, on nuclear fission since the year of its discovery, 1939, and that indeed many of the most prominent physicists in Allied countries seemed not to be publishing at all. This nonevent was very suspicious, and accordingly Flerov urged Stalin to start a program. However, because the Soviet Union was still involved with the war with Germany on its home front, a large scale domestic effort could not yet be undertaken.

Related Topics:
Joseph Stalin - Georgii Flerov

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