The first test of an atomic bomb in the Soviet Union. Dossier

In December 1946, the first experimental atomic reactor, which required 45 tons of uranium to operate. To launch an industrial reactor, which was required to produce plutonium, another 150 tons of uranium were needed, which were accumulated only by the beginning of 1948.

Test launches of the reactor began on June 8, 1948 near Chelyabinsk, but at the end of the year a serious accident occurred, due to which the reactor was shut down for 2 months. At the same time, manual disassembly and assembly of the reactor was carried out, during which thousands of people were irradiated, including members of the leadership of the Soviet Union who participated in the liquidation of the accident. nuclear project Igor Kurchatov and Avraamy Zavenyagin. Required for manufacturing atomic bomb 10 kilograms of plutonium were obtained in the USSR by mid-1949.

The test of the first domestic atomic bomb RDS-1 was carried out on August 29, 1949 at the Semipalatinsk test site. In place of the tower with the bomb, a funnel 3 meters in diameter and 1.5 meters deep was formed, covered with melted sand. After the explosion, it was allowed to stay 2 kilometers from the epicenter and no more than 15 minutes due to the high level of radiation.

At 25 meters from the tower there was a building made of reinforced concrete structures, with an overhead crane in the hall for installing a plutonium charge. The structure was partially destroyed, the structure itself survived. Of the 1,538 experimental animals, 345 died as a result of the explosion, some of the animals imitated soldiers in the trenches.

Lightly damaged tank T-34 and field artillery within a radius of 500-550 meters from the epicenter, and at a distance of up to 1500 meters, all types of aircraft received significant damage. At a distance of a kilometer from the epicenter and further every 500 meters, 10 Pobeda cars were installed, all 10 cars burned down.

At a distance of 800 meters, two residential 3-storey houses, built 20 meters from each other, so that the first shielded the second, were completely destroyed, residential panel and log houses of the urban type were completely destroyed within a radius of 5 kilometers. Most of the damage was received from the shock wave. Railway and highway bridges located at 1,000 and 1,500 meters, respectively, were mangled and thrown 20-30 meters from their place.

The wagons and vehicles located on the bridges, half-burnt, were scattered across the steppe at a distance of 50-80 meters from the installation site. Tanks and cannons were overturned and mangled, animals were carried away. The tests were considered successful.

Lavrentiy Beria and Igor Kurchatov, the project managers, were awarded the title of Honorary Citizen of the USSR. A number of scientists who participated in the project - Kurchatov, Flerov, Khariton, Khlopin, Shchelkin, Zeldovich, Bochvar, as well as Nikolaus Riehl, became Heroes of Socialist Labor.

All of them were awarded Stalin Prizes, and also received dachas near Moscow and Pobeda cars, and Kurchatov received a ZIS car. The title of Hero of Socialist Labor was also received by Boris Vannikov, one of the leaders of the Soviet defense industry, his deputy Pervukhin, deputy minister Zavenyagin, as well as 7 more generals of the Ministry of Internal Affairs who led nuclear facilities. Project manager Beria was awarded the Order of Lenin.

The first nuclear explosion The USSR was carried out on August 29, 1949, and the last nuclear explosion was on October 24, 1990. USSR nuclear test program lasted between these dates 41 years 1 month 26 days. During this time, 715 nuclear explosions were carried out, both peaceful and combat.

The first nuclear explosion was carried out at the Semipalatinsk Test Site (SIP), and the last nuclear explosion of the USSR was carried out at the Northern Test Site Novaya Zemlya (SNPNZ). The names of the geographical areas of the places where nuclear tests were carried out correspond to the period of the existence of the USSR.

In 1950 and 1952 in the USSR there were breaks in nuclear testing due to the specifics of the initial stage of work on the nuclear weapons program. In 1959-1960. and until August 1, 1961, the USSR did not conduct nuclear tests, participating in a moratorium on nuclear tests together with the United States and Great Britain. In 1963 and until March 15, 1964, the USSR did not conduct nuclear tests in connection with the preparation of the conclusion of the 1963 treaty on the prohibition of nuclear tests in three environments, and the transition to the implementation of the underground nuclear testing program. From August 1985 to February 1987, and from November 1989 to October 1990 and later, the USSR did not conduct nuclear tests, participating in moratoriums on their conduct.

All tests can be divided into stages:

the stage from 08/29/49 to 11/03/58, which began with the testing of the first atomic bomb of the USSR and ended with the announcement of the first moratorium on nuclear testing by the USSR (together with the USA).
the stage from 09/01/61 to 12/25/62, which began in connection with the withdrawal of the USSR from the first moratorium (due to the aggravation of the military-political situation, the impetus for which was the incident with the U-2 spy plane flying over the territory of the USSR in May 1961) and ended in connection with the termination of the USSR atmospheric nuclear explosions.
the stage from March 15, 1964 to December 25, 1975, which was started by the implementation of the USSR nuclear test program under the conditions of the Treaty on the Ban on Nuclear Tests in Three Environments (USSR, USA, Great Britain). It ended due to the termination of the USSR nuclear explosions with energy release above the threshold value E = 150 kV in accordance with the entry into force of the 1974 Treaty. on the threshold limitation of the power of nuclear tests.
the stage from 01/15/76 to 07/25/85, which was started by the implementation of the USSR nuclear testing program under the conditions of the Treaty on the Threshold Limitation of the Power of Nuclear Tests and ended due to the unilateral announcement by the USSR of a moratorium on nuclear tests.
the stage from 02/26/87 to 10/24/90 (with a break between 10/19/89 and 10/24/90) is a work under the conditions of the M.S. Gorbachev to stop nuclear testing in the USSR.

Stages I and II can be combined into one stage, conditionally called the period of atmospheric nuclear tests, and stages III, IV and V - into the second stage - the stage of underground nuclear tests of the USSR. The total energy release from nuclear tests in the USSR was Eo = 285.4 Mt, including Eo = 247.2 Mt during "atmospheric nuclear tests" and Eo = 38 Mt during "underground nuclear tests".

It is of interest to compare these characteristics with similar characteristics US nuclear test programs . In the period 1945-1992. The US conducted 1,056 nuclear tests and nuclear explosions for peaceful purposes (including 24 tests in Nevada jointly with the UK), which can also be divided into a number of stages:

the stage from 07/16/45 to 05/14/48, which was started by the testing of the first US atomic bomb (Trinity) and ended due to internal circumstances;
the stage from 01/27/51 to 10/30/58, which began with the first test at the Nevada test site and ended with the US entering into a joint moratorium with the USSR in 1958;
the stage from 09/15/61 to 06/25/63, which began in connection with the withdrawal of the United States from the moratorium due to the aggravation of the military-political situation and ended with the entry into the period determined by the operation of the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in three environments;
the stage from 08/12/63 to 08/26/76, which began under the conditions of the Treaty on the Ban on Nuclear Tests in Three Media, and ended in connection with the beginning of the Treaty on the Threshold Limitation of Nuclear Tests;
the stage from 10/06/76 to the present, which began under the conditions of the Threshold Limitation of Nuclear Tests Treaty and is considered in these materials until September 1992.

Phases I, II, and III can be combined into a single phase called the atmospheric nuclear testing phase (although much of the US nuclear testing at this time was conducted underground), and phases IV and V can be combined into an underground nuclear testing phase.

The total energy release of US nuclear tests is estimated at Eo = 193 Mt, including Eo = 154.65 Mt during "atmospheric nuclear tests" and Eo = 38.35 Mt during "underground nuclear tests".

From comparisons general characteristics nuclear tests in the USSR and in the USA, the following can be seen:

The USSR conducted ~1.47 times less nuclear testing than the US, and the total energy output of nuclear testing in the USSR is 1.47 times greater than the total energy output of US nuclear tests.
during the period of atmospheric nuclear tests, the USSR conducted 1.5 times less nuclear tests than the United States, and the total capacity of nuclear tests in the USSR was 1.6 times greater than the total capacity of US nuclear tests during this period;
during the period of underground nuclear tests, the USSR conducted 1.46 times less nuclear tests than the United States, with approximately the same total energy release of nuclear tests in both countries.
the maximum intensity of nuclear tests of the USSR in the "atmospheric period of nuclear tests" falls on 1962 (79 tests); the maximum intensity of nuclear tests during this period in the United States also falls on 1962 (98 tests). The maximum annual energy release of nuclear tests in the USSR falls on 1962 (133.8 Mt), and in the USA - in 1954 (48.2 Mt).
in the period 1963-1976. the maximum intensity of nuclear tests of the USSR is 24 tests (1972), the USA - 56 tests (1968). The maximum annual energy release of nuclear tests in the USSR during this period is 8.17 Mt (1973), the USA - 4.85 Mt (1968.1971).
in the period 1977-1992. the maximum intensity of nuclear tests of the USSR is 31 tests (1978, 1979), the USA - 21 tests (1978). The maximum annual energy release of nuclear tests in the USSR during this period is 1.41 Mt (1979), the USA - 0.57 Mt (1978, 1982).

From the above characteristics of the dynamics of nuclear testing, a number of conclusions can be drawn:

the USSR entered each new stage of nuclear testing (1949, 1963) with a delay in the development of technology for conducting comparison tests) with the USA;
in 1962, the backlog of the USSR from the USA in the possibilities of conducting atmospheric explosions was eliminated; with a close total number of tests (79 tests in the USSR, 98 tests in the USA), the total energy release of nuclear explosions in the USSR exceeded the total energy release of nuclear explosions in the USA for this year by ~ 3.6 times;
in 1964-1961 the number of nuclear tests of the USSR was ~ 3.7 times less than the number of nuclear tests conducted in those years by the USA, and the total energy release of nuclear explosions in the USSR was inferior to the total energy release of nuclear explosions in the USA by ~ 4.7 times. In 1971-1975. the average annual number of nuclear tests conducted by the USSR and the USA was already close (20.8 and 23.8 tests), and the total energy release of nuclear tests in the USSR exceeded this value by a factor of ~ 1.85 for US nuclear tests;
in the period 1977-1984. (before the policy of moratoriums by M.S. Gorbachev), the average annual number of nuclear tests in the USSR was 25.4 tests per year compared to 18.6 tests per year in the United States (that is, it exceeded ~ 1.35 times); the average annual energy release of nuclear tests in the USSR during this period was 0.92 Mt/year compared to 0.46 Mt/year in the USA (that is, it exceeded by ~ 2 times).

Thus, we can talk about eliminating the backlog and realizing certain advantages in conducting nuclear tests in the USSR compared to the USA in 1962, in 1971-1975, in 1977-1984. To develop this success prevented in 1963. Treaty banning nuclear tests in three environments, after 1975. - Treaty on the Threshold Limitation of the Power of Nuclear Tests after 1984. - policy of M.S. Gorbachev.

When comparing the nuclear testing programs of the USSR and the USA, it is of interest to single out nuclear tests for civilian purposes.

The US program of nuclear explosions for peaceful purposes (the Plowshare program) was carried out in 1961-1973. and consisted of 27 experiments. In the USSR, it was carried out during 1964-1988. a total of 124 industrial explosions and 32 nuclear tests for the development of industrial charges.

Combined arms testing of nuclear weapons

"Despised the danger,
fulfilled their military
duty in the name of defense
the might of the Motherland"
/ inscription on the obelisk
at the epicenter of the Totsk explosion/

In total, in the Soviet Army, it can be considered that two military exercises were conducted using nuclear weapons: September 14, 1954 - at the Totsk artillery range in the Orenburg region and September 10, 1956 - a nuclear test at the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site with the participation of military units. There have been eight such exercises in the United States.

Totsk combined arms exercises with the use of nuclear weapons

"Snowball" - the code name of the Totsk military exercises

TASS message:
"In accordance with the plan of research and experimental work, in recent days a test of one of the types of atomic weapons. the purpose of the test was to study the effect of an atomic explosion. During testing, valuable results were obtained that will help Soviet scientists and engineers successfully solve problems of protection against atomic attack.
Newspaper "Pravda", September 17, 1954.

Nuclear weapons, possessing enormous destructive power and specific damaging factors: shock in one, light radiation, penetrating radiation, radioactive contamination of the area, required a revision of the established methods of warfare, a revision of the structure of the country's economy and increasing its survivability, protecting the population on an unprecedented scale.

The military exercise with the use of atomic weapons on September 14, 1954 took place after the government of the USSR made a decision to launch training of the country's Armed Forces for actions in the conditions of actual use of nuclear weapons by a potential enemy. The adoption of such a decision had its own history. The first development of proposals on this issue at the level of the leading ministries of the country dates back to the end of 1949. This was due not only to the successful first nuclear tests in the former Soviet Union, but also to the influence of the American media, which fed our foreign intelligence with information that the Armed The US forces and Civil Defense are actively preparing for actions in the conditions of the use of nuclear weapons in the event of an armed conflict. The Ministry of Defense of the USSR (at that time the Ministry of the Armed Forces) in coordination with the ministries of atomic energy (at that time the First Main Directorate under the Council of Ministers of the USSR), health, chemical and radio engineering industry of the USSR acted as the initiator of the preparation of proposals for conducting exercises with the use of nuclear weapons. The direct developer of the first proposals was a special department of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR (V.A. Bolyatko, A.A. Osin, E.F. Lozovoy). Marshal of Artillery N. D. Yakovlev, Deputy Minister of Defense for Armaments, supervised the development of proposals.

The first submission of the proposal for the exercise was signed by Marshal of the Soviet Union A.M. Vasilevsky, B.L. Vannikov, E.I. Smirnov, P.M. Kruglov, and others responsible persons and sent to the Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR N.A. Bulganin. Over four years (1949-1953) more than twenty submissions were developed, which were sent mainly to N.A. Bulganin, as well as L.M. Kaganovich, L.P. Beria, G.M. Malenkov and V.M. Molotov.

On September 29, 1953, a resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR was issued, marking the beginning of the preparation of the Armed Forces and the country for operations in special conditions. At the same time, on the proposal of V.A. conducting operations and combat operations in the conditions of the use of nuclear weapons, Manual on anti-nuclear defense, Guidelines for the protection of cities. Guidelines for medical support, Guidelines for radiation reconnaissance. Guidelines for decontamination and sanitization and Memo to the soldier, sailor and population on protection against atomic weapons. On the personal instructions of N. Bulganin, within a month, all these documents were published by the Military Publishing House and delivered to groups of troops, military districts, air defense districts and fleets. At the same time, a screening of special films on nuclear weapons testing was organized for the leadership of the army and navy.

A practical test of new views on the conduct of war began with the Totsk military exercises using a real atomic bomb created by scientists and designers of KB-11 (Arzamas-16).

In 1954 strategic aviation The United States had over 700 atomic bombs in service. The United States conducted 45 nuclear tests, including 2 nuclear bombing the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In surveys, the use of atomic weapons and protection against them were widely tested not only at test sites, but also at military exercises of the US Army.

By this time, only 8 tests of atomic weapons had been carried out in the USSR. The results of the atomic bombing by US aircraft of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 are studied. The nature and extent of the damaging effects of this formidable weapon were well known. This made it possible to develop the first instructions on the conduct of hostilities in the conditions of the use of atomic weapons and methods of protecting troops from the damaging effects of atomic explosions. From the point of view of modern ideas, the recommendations set forth in them are largely correct today.

Under these conditions, it was extremely necessary in the interests of improving the anti-nuclear protection of troops, checking the calculated standards for the destruction of equipment and weapons by atomic weapons, to conduct an exercise as close as possible to a combat situation. The implementation of this plan was also dictated by the desire to keep up with the US Army in the preparation of the Armed Forces of the USSR.

To conduct the exercises, consolidated military units and formations were formed, gathered from all regions of the country from all branches of the Armed Forces and branches of the armed forces, intended to further transfer the experience gained to those who did not take part in these exercises.

To ensure safety in case of an atomic explosion, a plan for ensuring safety in case of an atomic explosion, instructions for ensuring the security of troops during a corps exercise, a memo to a soldier and a sergeant on safety during an exercise, and a memo to the local population were developed. The main measures to ensure safety in the event of an atomic explosion were developed based on the expected consequences of an atomic bomb explosion at an altitude of 350 m above the ground (air explosion) in the region of mark 195.1. In addition, special measures were provided to ensure the troops and the population from being hit by radioactive substances in the event that an explosion occurs with large deviations from the specified conditions in range and height. All personnel of the troops were provided with gas masks, protective paper capes, protective stockings and gloves.

To carry out partial sanitization and decontamination, the troops had the appropriate number of decontamination kits. Partial sanitization and decontamination was planned to be carried out directly in combat formations. Full sanitization and decontamination were planned at the washing and decontamination stations.

In the initial position for the offensive and in the defense sectors of the units, places were equipped for washing and decontamination points, and chemical defense units were in readiness to carry out decontamination work.

In order to exclude the possibility of defeating troops by light radiation, personnel were forbidden to look in the direction of the explosion until the strike or sound wave, and the troops closest to the epicenter of the atomic explosion were given special dark films for gas masks to protect their eyes from damage by light radiation.

To prevent damage by a shock wave, the troops located closest (at a distance of 5-7.5 km) had to be in shelters, then 7.5 km - in open and covered trenches, in a sitting or lying position. Ensuring the safety of troops from damage by penetrating radiation was assigned to chemical troops. The norms of permissible contamination of personnel and military equipment were reduced by four times in comparison with the then existing permissible in the troops.

To carry out measures to ensure the safety of the population, the exercise area within a radius of up to 50 km from the explosion site was divided into five zones: zone 1 (forbidden zone) - up to 8 km from the center of the explosion; zone 2 - from 8 to 12 km; zone 3 - from 12 to 15 km; zone 4 - from 15 to 50 km (in the sector 300-0-110 degrees) and zone 5, located to the north of the target along the combat course of the carrier aircraft in a strip 10 km wide and 20 km deep, over which the carrier aircraft was flying with an open bomb bay.

Zone 1 was completely freed from the local population. Residents of settlements, as well as livestock, fodder and all movable property were exported to other settlements located no closer than 15 km from the center of the atomic explosion.

In zone 2, three hours before the atomic explosion, the population was taken to natural shelters (ravines, ravines) located near settlements; in 10 minutes, at the set signal, all residents had to lie face down on the ground. Public and personal cattle were driven to safe areas in advance.

In zone 3, 1 hour before the explosion, the population was taken out of their houses to household plots at a distance of 15-30 meters from the buildings; 10 minutes before the explosion, on a signal, everyone lay down on the ground.

In zone 4, protection of the population was provided only from possible strong radioactive contamination of the area along the path of the cloud, mainly in the event of a ground explosion. Two hours before the atomic explosion, the population of this zone was sheltered in their houses in readiness for evacuation in case of severe contamination.

The population of zone 5 was taken out of it to safe areas 3 hours before the explosion. The cattle were driven away or hidden in barns.

In total, about 45,000 personnel, 600 tanks and self-propelled artillery mounts, 500 guns and mortars, 600 armored personnel carriers, 320 aircraft, 6,000 tractors and vehicles were involved in the exercise.

The exercise was attended by the leadership of all military branches and forces of the fleet, the command of all groups of troops, military districts, air defense districts, fleets and flotillas. All the ministers of defense of countries that were friendly to us at that time were invited.

The training ground was chosen as the location for the exercise. ground forces, located inland in the Orenburg region north of the village of Tonkoye in a sparsely populated area, characteristic in terms of relief and vegetation not only for the Southern Urals, but also for a number of regions of the European part of the USSR and other European countries.

The military exercise on the topic "Breakthrough of the Prepared Tactical Defense of the Enemy Using Atomic Weapons" was scheduled for the fall of 1954. The exercises used a 40 kt atomic bomb tested at the Semipalatinsk test site in 1951. The leadership of the exercise was entrusted to Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov (at that time Deputy Minister of Defense). The leadership of the Ministry of Medium Machine Building of the USSR headed by V.A. took an active part in the preparation and during the exercise. Malyshev, as well as leading scientists - the creators of nuclear weapons I.V. Kurchatov, K.I. Click, etc.

The main task in the preparatory period was the combat coordination of troops and staffs, as well as the individual training of specialists in the branches of the armed forces for operations in conditions of real use of atomic weapons. The training of troops involved in the exercise was carried out according to special programs for 45 days. The teaching itself lasted one day. Various types of drills and special classes were organized on terrain similar to the exercise area. In all the memoirs of the participants of the exercise, without exception, intensive combat training, training in protective equipment, engineering equipment of the area are noted - in general, hard army work, in which both the soldier and the marshal participated.

The theme for the advancing side was: "Breakthrough by the rifle corps of the prepared tactical defense of the enemy with the use of atomic weapons"; for the defending side - "Organization and conduct of defense in the conditions of the use of atomic weapons."

Common goals the teachings were as follows:

Investigate the impact of an explosion of a medium-caliber atomic bomb on a pre-prepared defense site, as well as on weapons, military equipment, and animals. Establish the degree of protective properties of various engineering structures, terrain and vegetation from the effects of an atomic explosion.
To study and practically test under the conditions of the use of the atomic bomb:
- features of the organization of offensive and defensive actions of units and formations;
- the actions of the advancing troops during the breakthrough of the defensive lines following the atomic bombs;
- the actions of the defending troops in the conditions of the use of atomic weapons by the attacking side, the conduct of a counterattack following an atomic strike against the advancing enemy troops;
- organization of anti-nuclear protection of troops in defense and offensive;
- methods of command and control of troops in the offensive and defense;
- material and technical support of troops in combat conditions.
Study and show one of options preparation and conduct of an offensive from a position of direct contact with the enemy, without the withdrawal of friendly troops from the first position for the duration of the atomic strike.
It was necessary to teach the personnel of the army - privates and commanders - how to practically operate in the offensive and defense in the front line when using atomic weapons by their own troops or the enemy. Let the troops feel "the breath and the whole picture of an atomic explosion."

The exercise was planned to be held in two stages:

I stage- breakthrough of the division's defense line (main line of defense);
II stage- taking possession of a strip of corps reserves (second line of defense) from the move and repelling a counterattack by a mechanized division.

During the exercise, the main attention was paid to the actions of the advancing side, whose troops actually carried out atomic, artillery and aviation preparation for a breakthrough and overcame the area of an atomic explosion.

Due to the fact that real atomic, artillery and aviation training breakthrough of individual sections of the defense zone, the defending troops occupying this zone were withdrawn in advance to a safe distance. Subsequently, these troops were used to hold the rear position and sections of the strip of corps reserves.

The resistance of the units defending when the attackers broke through the first two positions of the division's defense zone was played out by specially assigned for this purpose in military units representatives of the leadership team.

The exercise area was a moderately rugged terrain, covered with forest in a number of areas and separated by wide valleys of small rivers.

The forests east of the Makhovka River greatly facilitated the camouflage of the combat formations of the regiments of the first echelon and the main artillery positions of the attackers, and the line of the Ananchikov, Bolshaya and Mezhvezhya mountains hid the defenders from ground observation battle formations corps and at the same time provided a view of the enemy defense to a depth of 5-6 km from the front edge.

Open areas of terrain, available in the offensive zones of regiments and divisions, made it possible to conduct an offensive at a high pace; along with this, forest land in a number of areas made it difficult to move, and after an atomic explosion, due to forest debris and fires, it could become very difficult to pass even for tanks.

The rugged terrain in the area scheduled for the explosion of the atomic bomb provided a comprehensive test of the impact of an atomic explosion on engineering structures, military equipment and animals and made it possible to reveal the influence of the terrain and vegetation on the propagation of a shock wave, light radiation and penetrating radiation.

The location of settlements in the exercise area made it possible during an atomic explosion not to cause significant damage to the interests of the local population, to choose the flight route of the aircraft carrying the atomic bomb, bypassing large settlements, and also ensured safety when the radioactive cloud moved in the east, north and northwest direction.

Until mid-September, according to the forecast, clear, dry weather remained in the exercise area. This provided good cross-country ability for all modes of transport, favorable conditions for engineering work, and made it possible to drop an atomic bomb with visual aiming, which was determined as a prerequisite.

The troops were withdrawn for the exercise in specially designed states in relation to the organization adopted in 1954, and provided with new weapons and military equipment adopted for supplying the army.

How the troops were preparing for the upcoming exercise can be judged from the materials of the reporting documents. More than 380 km of trenches were dug in the initial areas of deployment of troops alone, more than 500 dugouts and other shelters were built.

The command made a decision - to carry out bombing from the TU-4 aircraft. Two crews were allocated to participate in the exercises: Major Vasily Kutyrchev and Captain Konstantin Lyasnikov. The crew of Major V. Kutyrchev already had experience in flight tests of an atomic bomb at the Semipalatinsk test site. Preparation for the exercises was carried out in Akhtuba (this is near Volgograd, 850 km from the city of Totskoy). Training bombing in Totskoye was carried out with 250 kg bombs-blanks. In training flights, bombing was carried out with a spread of only 50-60 meters at a flight altitude of ten kilometers. The average flying time in training flights for the crews of the aircraft carriers of the atomic bomb for this exercise was more than 100 hours. The command of the ground troops did not believe that such accuracy of bombing could be.

Until the very last moment, none of the crews knew who would be the main crew and who would be the understudy. On the day of departure for the exercise, two crews were preparing in full with hanging an atomic bomb on each aircraft.

At the same time, they started the engines, reported on the readiness to carry out the building and waited for the command to whom to taxi for takeoff. The command was received by the crew of V. Kutyrchev, where the scorer was captain L. Kokorin, the second pilot was Romensky, the navigator was V. Babets. The aircraft was escorted by two MiG-17 fighters and an IL-28 bomber.

It was clear to all participants in the exercise that such an exercise was forced, necessary measure. Its repetition was excluded, and it was necessary to prepare in such a way as to derive the greatest benefit for the Armed Forces. And above all in matters combat use military branches, ensuring anti-nuclear protection of personnel, additional assessment and demonstration to personnel of the impact of the damaging factors of an atomic explosion on equipment, weapons and engineering structures. For this purpose, samples were exhibited in the area of the explosion. military equipment and weapons, fortifications were built. AT scientific purposes to study the effect of a shock wave, light radiation, penetrating radiation and radioactive contamination on living organisms and assess the protective properties of engineering structures (trenches with overlapping, reinforced dugouts, protected firing points, shelters for tanks and artillery pieces etc.) various animals were used.

As seen from official sources, confirmed by the memories of the direct participants in this exercise, the emphasis was placed on the individual training of personnel, and on the training of units as a whole. The personnel acted consciously, competently and proactively, which is noted in the memoirs of the participants and the assessments of the leaders of the exercise.

Especially great work was carried out to ensure the security of the troops. The most serious attention was paid to working out the actions of personnel both at the time of the explosion and when overcoming areas of terrain conditionally contaminated with radioactive substances. In all areas where the impact of the damaging factors of an atomic explosion was expected, special warning signals were provided, according to which the personnel of the troops carried out protective actions immediately before the explosion and during the entire time of the possible danger. The main security measures were developed based on the expected consequences of an air explosion of an atomic bomb.

The documents of the exercise confirm that the planned security measures excluded the impact of the damaging factors of an atomic explosion on personnel in excess of the established allowable norms. They took into account elements of increased peacetime security requirements. In particular, the norms for permissible contamination of personnel and military equipment were reduced several times in comparison with the norms determined by the Manual on Anti-Nuclear Protection of Troops. Areas with radiation levels above 25 rad/hour were declared restricted areas for the duration of the exercise, marked with prohibition signs, and the troops were required to bypass them. Strict implementation of all the rules and instructions provided for did not allow any possibility of defeating personnel.

The start of implementation of practical security measures was planned well in advance. A restricted area has been established. This detail is characteristic: shelters and shelters 5 km from the intended epicenter of the explosion were equipped as if they were located 300-800 meters from the epicenter of the atomic bomb explosion. This example once again confirms that engineering structures were built with a significant margin of safety.

Five days before the start of the exercise, all troops were withdrawn from the restricted area. Guards were posted around the perimeter of the restricted area. From the moment of acceptance under protection and during the first three days after the explosion, admission to it was made only through a checkpoint with special passes and tokens. The order of the exercise commander said: “On the day of the exercise, from 5.00 to 9.00, prohibit the movement of single persons and vehicles. Movement is allowed only in teams with responsible officers. From 9.00 to 11.00, all movement is prohibited. and report to me in writing. All prepared shelters and shelters, as well as the readiness of communications for receiving and transmitting signals, are checked by special commissions and the results of the check are formalized in an act. "

Analysis official documents testifies that the security measures taken during the exercise made it possible to conduct it without gross violations and prevent the personnel from being in the area contaminated with radioactive substances for a long time.

Imagine the situation in the exercise area by the morning of September 14, 1954. According to the exercise plan, reports on readiness have been received, final orders are being given, communications are being checked. The troops occupied the starting areas. A fragment of the situation in the area of the atomic explosion is shown in the diagram. "Western" - defending - occupy areas at a distance of 10-12 km from the intended center of the target of an atomic explosion, "Eastern" - advancing - beyond the river, 5 km eastern district explosion. For security purposes, the advancing lead units were withdrawn from the first trench and placed in shelters and shelters in the second trench and in depth.

At 09:20, the leadership of the exercise hears the latest reports on the meteorological situation and a decision is made to detonate the atomic bomb. The decision is recorded and approved. After that, the aircraft crew is ordered by radio to drop the atomic bomb.

10 minutes before the atomic strike on the "atomic alarm" signal, the troops occupy shelters and shelters.

At 9 hours 34 minutes 48 seconds (local time) an air atomic explosion is carried out. The recollections of the participants in the exercise objectively paint a picture of the explosion, and there is practically little to add here.

The materials of the exercise describe in detail the actions of the troops and the radiation situation that was in the area of the exercise after the atomic explosion. It was of exceptional practical and scientific value, and therefore the merit of the personnel who carried out various measurements and observations is great. However, even in this case, the security regime was not reduced.

According to the exercise plan, artillery preparation begins five minutes after the atomic explosion. At the end of the artillery preparation, bombing and assault air strikes are carried out.

In order to determine the levels of radiation and the direction of the epicenter of the atomic bomb explosion, at the end of live firing, it was planned to use dosimetric patrols of neutral (independent) radiation reconnaissance. Patrols should arrive in the area of the explosion 40 minutes after the explosion and start reconnaissance in the designated sectors and marking the boundaries of the zones of contamination with warning signs: the actual level of radiation in the area of the epicenter of the explosion after 1 hour, mark: zone with a level of 25 r / h, over 0.5 r / hour and 0.1 r / hour. The personnel of the patrol, which measures the level of radiation at the epicenter of the explosion, is in a tank, the armor of which reduces the dose of penetrating radiation by 8-9 times.

At 10 hours 10 minutes, the "eastern" attacked the positions of the mock enemy. The diagram shows the position of the troops of the parties at various times after the atomic explosion. By 11 a.m., the subunits are landing personnel on equipment and continuing the offensive in pre-battle formations (columns). The reconnaissance units, together with the military radiation reconnaissance, move ahead.

At about 12.00 on September 14, the advance detachment, overcoming fires and debris, enters the area of the atomic explosion. After 10-15 minutes, behind the forward detachment in the same area, but to the north and south of the epicenter of the explosion, units of the first echelon of the "Eastern" move forward. Since the area of contamination from an atomic explosion should already be marked with signs posted by patrols of neutral reconnaissance, the units are oriented about the radiation situation in the area of the explosion.

During the exercise, in accordance with the plan, atomic explosions are simulated twice by detonating explosives. The main purpose of such a simulation was the need to train troops to act in conditions of "radioactive contamination of the area." Upon completion of the tasks of the exercise, at 4 p.m. on September 14, the troops are given a retreat. In accordance with the plan for security measures, after the completion of the exercise, personnel are checked, dosimetric control of personnel and military equipment is carried out. In all units operating in the area of the atomic explosion, at specially equipped points, sanitation of personnel is carried out with the replacement of upper uniforms and decontamination of equipment.

Assessing the exercise conducted in 1954 from a modern standpoint, one can unequivocally state its great importance for improving the practice of preparing troops for operations in the conditions of the use of atomic weapons and, in general, for strengthening the combat readiness and combat capability of the Soviet Armed Forces.

And, of course, retired major S.I. Pegaiov is right, emphasizing that "... the September exercise was that brick in the wall that stood in the way of a nuclear catastrophe" ("Red Star", November 16, 1989).

Indeed, the assessment of the role and place of the exercise in the life of the army and the problems that have arisen due to the lack of official information are of concern to many, judging by the publications. Moreover, now these issues have become more acute than 35 years ago.

Answers to many questions of the participants of the exercise, including personal ones, can and should be given today. Specific example to that - a meeting of the head of the Chief political management Soviet Army and Navy General of the Army A.D. Lizichev with the participant of the exercise V.Ya. defense of the USSR.

At present, the hospitals of the Russian Ministry of Defense are instructed to check the health status of the participants in the exercise who have applied to them, to provide them with comprehensive assistance in treatment. In addition, the Military Medical Academy named after S.M. Kirov is ready to accept them for a specialized examination.

Totsk exercises with the use of the atomic bomb ... There are many legends and tales about them, which still disturb hundreds of thousands of people, both in Russia and abroad. For some reason, the Japanese press and television are showing increased interest in them.

Semipalatinsk military exercises with the use of atomic weapons

September 10, 1956 at the Semipalatinsk test site took place military exercise on the topic "The use of tactical airborne assault following an atomic strike in order to hold the zone of destruction of an atomic explosion until the advancing troops approach from the front." The general leadership for the coordination of a nuclear explosion and the actions of the troops was carried out by the deputy. USSR Minister of Defense for Special Weapons Marshal of Artillery M. M. Nedelin. The timely conduct of the explosion and nuclear-technical support was entrusted to Colonel General V. A. Bolyatko. Managed parts Airborne Troops Lieutenant General S. Rozhdestvensky.

The main task of the exercise was to determine the time after the explosion, when it would be possible to land an airborne assault, as well as the minimum distance of the landing site from the epicenter of the air explosion of a nuclear bomb. In addition, this exercise contributed to the acquisition of skills to ensure the safe landing of troops within the zone of destruction of a nuclear explosion.

In total, one and a half thousand military personnel were involved in the exercise. Directly into the area of the epicenter of the explosion, 272 people landed: the second paratrooper battalion of the 345th regiment (without one company), reinforced by a platoon of 57-mm regimental artillery guns, six B-10 recoilless guns, a platoon of 82-mm mortars and a chemical squad of the regiment with means of conducting radiation and chemical reconnaissance. To deliver troops to the landing area. Located on the P-3 test site, a regiment of Mi-4 helicopters consisting of 27 combat vehicles was used.

For dosimetric support and control of the radiation situation, four dosimetrist officers were assigned and operated together with the landing force, one for each landing company, as well as a senior dosimetrist who accompanied the lead vehicle of the regiment commander. The main task of dosimetrist officers was to exclude the possibility of landing helicopters and landing troops on the ground with a radiation level above 5 roentgens per hour and, in addition, to monitor the fulfillment of radiation safety requirements by the landing personnel. On cases of violation of established safety rules, dosimetrist officers were required to report to the commanders of the landing units.

The starting area for landing was 23 km from the conventional front line and 36 km from the planned explosion of a nuclear bomb (site P-3 of the experimental field). The flight path for helicopters with military personnel and equipment on board had a width of 3 km. The flight of the helicopter column with the landing force was to be carried out during a half-hour artillery preparation for the attack of the advancing troops. The enemy defenses were marked with trenches and targets.

All landing personnel and helicopter crews were provided with personal protective equipment. Decontamination and the required number of dosimetric devices. In order to prevent the ingress of radioactive substances into the body of soldiers, it was decided to parachute personnel without food, supplies drinking water and smoking accessories.

nuclear explosion aviation bomb, dropped from a Tu-16 aircraft, which rose to a height of eight km, occurred 270 meters from the ground with a deviation from the aiming center by 80 meters. The TNT equivalent of the explosion was 38 kt.

25 minutes after the explosion, when the front of the shock wave passed and the explosion cloud reached its maximum height, patrols of neutral radiation reconnaissance left the starting line in cars and reconnoitred the explosion area. marked the landing line and reported on the radio about the possibility of landing in the area of the explosion. The landing line was marked at a distance of 650-1000 meters from the epicenter. Its length was 1300 meters. The level of radiation on the ground at the time of the landing ranged from 0.3 to 5 roentgens per hour.

Helicopters landed in the designated area 43 minutes after the nuclear explosion. The border of the landing area closest to the epicenter of the explosion was previously reconnoitered and marked by "neutral" radiation reconnaissance. ("Neutral" radiation reconnaissance consisted of 3 patrols on Mi-4 helicopters and 4 patrols on GAZ-69 vehicles. At the time of the nuclear of the explosion, the “neutral” radiation reconnaissance group, operating on vehicles, occupied its initial position 7 km from the center of the P-3 site in the civil defense shelter of the second category).

The almost complete absence of wind in the surface layer of the atmosphere led to the stagnation of smoke from fires and a cloud of dust caused by the explosion, which made it difficult to observe the landing site from the air. Landing of helicopters led to rise into the air a large number dust, thereby creating difficult conditions for landing.

7 minutes after landing, the helicopters took off to follow to the point of special processing. 17 minutes after landing, the landing units reached the line, where they entrenched themselves and repulsed the enemy counterattack. 2 hours after the explosion, a retreat was announced for the exercise, after which the entire landing force with weapons and military equipment was delivered for sanitation and decontamination.

OPERATION "SNOW" IN THE USSR.

50 years ago, the USSR carried out Operation Snowball.

September 14 marked the 50th anniversary of the tragic events at the Totsk training ground. What happened on September 14, 1954 in the Orenburg region, long years surrounded by a thick veil of secrecy.

At 09:33, an explosion of one of the most powerful nuclear bombs at that time thundered over the steppe. Following in the offensive - past the forests burning in an atomic fire, villages demolished from the face of the earth - the "eastern" troops rushed to the attack.

Aircraft, striking ground targets, crossed the stem of a nuclear mushroom. 10 km from the epicenter of the explosion in radioactive dust, among molten sand, the "Westerners" held the defense. More shells and bombs were fired that day than during the storming of Berlin.

All participants in the exercise were taken under a non-disclosure agreement for state and military secrets for a period of 25 years. Dying from early heart attacks, strokes and cancer, they could not even tell their doctors about their radiation exposure. Few participants in the Totsk exercises managed to survive to this day. Half a century later, they told Moskovsky Komsomolets about the events of 1954 in the Orenburg steppe.

Preparing for Operation Snowball

“Throughout the end of the summer, military echelons from all over the Union went to the small Totskoye station. None of the arrivals - even the command of military units - had any idea why they were here. Women and children met our echelon at each station. Handing us sour cream and eggs, women lamented: “Darlings, I suppose you are going to fight in China,” says the chairman of the Committee of Veterans of Units special risk Vladimir Bentsianov.

In the early 1950s, serious preparations were made for the Third World War. After tests conducted in the United States in the USSR, they also decided to test nuclear bomb in open area. The place of the exercises - in the Orenburg steppe - was chosen because of the similarity with the Western European landscape.

“At first, combined arms exercises with a real nuclear explosion were planned to be held at the Kapustin Yar missile range, but in the spring of 1954, the Totsky test site was assessed, and it was recognized as the best in terms of security,” Lieutenant General Osin recalled at one time.

Participants of the Totsk exercises tell a different story. The field where it was planned to drop a nuclear bomb was clearly visible.

“For the exercises, the strongest guys were selected from us. We were given personal service weapons - modernized Kalashnikov assault rifles, quick-firing ten-shot automatic rifles and R-9 radio stations," recalls Nikolai Pilshchikov.

The campground stretched for 42 kilometers. Representatives of 212 units - 45,000 military personnel arrived at the exercises: 39,000 soldiers, sergeants and foremen, 6,000 officers, generals and marshals.

Preparations for the exercises, code-named "Snowball", lasted three months. By the end of the summer, the huge Battlefield was literally dotted with tens of thousands of kilometers of trenches, trenches and anti-tank ditches. We built hundreds of pillboxes, bunkers, dugouts.

On the eve of the exercises, the officers were shown a secret film about the operation of nuclear weapons. "For this, a special cinema pavilion was built, into which they were allowed only on the basis of a list and an identity card in the presence of the regiment commander and a representative of the KGB. At the same time, we heard:" You have a great honor - for the first time in the world to act in real conditions of the use of a nuclear bomb. "It became clear , for which we covered the trenches and dugouts with logs in several rolls, carefully smearing the protruding wooden parts with yellow clay. "They should not have caught fire from light radiation," Ivan Putivlsky recalled.

"Residents of the villages of Bogdanovka and Fedorovka, who were located 5-6 km from the epicenter of the explosion, were asked to temporarily evacuate 50 km from the site of the exercise. They were taken out in an organized manner by the troops, they were allowed to take everything with them. The evacuated residents were paid per diem for the entire period of the exercise," - says Nikolai Pilshchikov.

"Preparation for the exercises was carried out under artillery cannonade. Hundreds of aircraft bombed the specified areas. A month before the start, a Tu-4 aircraft daily dropped a "blank" into the epicenter - a dummy bomb weighing 250 kg," Putivlsky, a participant in the exercises, recalled.

According to the memoirs of Lieutenant Colonel Danilenko, in an old oak grove surrounded by a mixed forest, a white limestone cross measuring 100x100 m was applied. The training pilots aimed at it. Deviation from the target should not exceed 500 meters. Troops were all around.

Two crews were trained: Major Kutyrchev and Captain Lyasnikov. Until the very last moment, the pilots did not know who would be the main and who would be the understudy. Kutyrchev's crew had the advantage, which already had experience in flight tests of the atomic bomb at the Semipalatinsk test site.

To prevent damage by a shock wave, troops located at a distance of 5-7.5 km from the epicenter of the explosion were ordered to be in shelters, and further 7.5 km - in trenches in a sitting or lying position.

On one of the hills, 15 km from the planned epicenter of the explosion, a government platform was built to monitor the exercises, says Ivan Putivlsky. - The day before it was painted with oil paints in green and white. Surveillance devices were installed on the podium. An asphalt road was laid on the side of it from the railway station through deep sands. The military traffic police did not allow any extraneous vehicles on this road."

"Three days before the start of the exercise, top military leaders began to arrive at the field airfield near Totsk: Marshals of the Soviet Union Vasilevsky, Rokossovsky, Konev, Malinovsky," Pilshchikov recalls. Zhu-De and Peng-Te-Huai. All of them were housed in a government town built in advance in the area of the camp. A day before the exercises, Khrushchev, Bulganin and Kurchatov, the creator of nuclear weapons, appeared in Totsk. "

Marshal Zhukov was appointed head of the exercises. Around the epicenter of the explosion, marked with a white cross, military equipment was placed: tanks, planes, armored personnel carriers, to which "landing troops" were tied in trenches and on the ground: sheep, dogs, horses and calves.

Tu-4 bomber dropped a nuclear bomb from 8,000 meters

On the day of departure for the exercises, both Tu-4 crews prepared in full: nuclear bombs were hung on each of the aircraft, the pilots simultaneously started the engines and reported that they were ready to complete the task. The crew of Kutyrchev received the command to take off, where the scorer was Captain Kokorin, the second pilot was Romensky, the navigator was Babets. The Tu-4 was accompanied by two MiG-17 fighters and an Il-28 bomber, which were supposed to conduct weather reconnaissance and filming, as well as guard the carrier in flight.

“On September 14, we were alarmed at four o’clock in the morning. It was a clear and quiet morning,” says Ivan Putivlsky. “There was not a cloud in the sky. We were taken by car to the foot of the government podium. We sat tighter in the ravine and took pictures. government tribune sounded 15 minutes before the nuclear explosion: "The ice has broken!". 10 minutes before the explosion, we heard the second signal: "Ice is coming!". We, as we were instructed, ran out of the cars and rushed to the previously prepared shelters in the ravine on the side of the podium, lie down on your stomach, with your head in the direction of the explosion, as taught, with eyes closed put your hands under your head and open your mouth. The last, third, signal sounded: "Lightning!". There was an infernal roar in the distance. The clock stopped at 9:33.

The carrier plane dropped the atomic bomb from a height of 8,000 meters on its second approach to the target. The power of the plutonium bomb under the code word "Tatyanka" was 40 kilotons of TNT - several times more than the one that was blown up over Hiroshima. According to the memoirs of Lieutenant General Osin, a similar bomb was previously tested at the Semipalatinsk test site in 1951. Totskaya "Tatyanka" exploded at an altitude of 350 m from the ground. The deviation from the planned epicenter was 280 m in the northwest direction.

At the last moment, the wind changed: it carried the radioactive cloud not to the deserted steppe, as expected, but straight to Orenburg and further, towards Krasnoyarsk.

5 minutes after the nuclear explosion, artillery preparation began, then a bomber attack was struck. Guns and mortars of various calibers, Katyushas, self-propelled artillery mounts, tanks buried in the ground. The battalion commander told us later that the density of fire per kilometer of area was greater than when Berlin was taken, Kazanov recalls.

“During the explosion, despite the closed trenches and dugouts where we were, a bright light penetrated there, after a few seconds we heard a sound in the form of a sharp lightning discharge,” says Nikolai Pilshchikov. “After 3 hours, an attack signal was received. strike on ground targets 21-22 minutes after a nuclear explosion, crossed the leg of a nuclear mushroom - the trunk of a radioactive cloud. I and my battalion on an armored personnel carrier proceeded 600 m from the epicenter of the explosion at a speed of 16-18 km / h. I saw burned from the root to the top forest, crumpled columns of equipment, burnt animals". In the very epicenter - within a radius of 300 m - not a single hundred-year-old oak tree remained, everything burned down ... The equipment a kilometer from the explosion was pressed into the ground ...

“We crossed the valley, one and a half kilometers from which the epicenter of the explosion was located, in gas masks,” recalls Kazanov. whipped consistency.

The area after the explosion was difficult to recognize: the grass was smoking, scorched quails were running, bushes and copses had disappeared. I was surrounded by bare, smoking hills. There was a solid black wall of smoke and dust, stench and burning. My throat was dry and itchy, there was a ringing and noise in my ears ... The Major General ordered me to measure the level of radiation near a bonfire that was burning down next to me with a dosimetric device. I ran up, opened the shutter on the bottom of the device, and ... the arrow went off scale. “Get in the car!” the general commanded, and we drove off from this place, which turned out to be near the immediate epicenter of the explosion ... "

Two days later - on September 17, 1954 - a TASS message was printed in the Pravda newspaper: "In accordance with the plan of research and experimental work, one of the types of atomic weapons was tested in the Soviet Union in recent days. The purpose of the test was to study the effect atomic explosion. Valuable results were obtained during the test, which will help Soviet scientists and engineers successfully solve problems of protection against atomic attack. "

The troops completed their task: the country's nuclear shield was created.

Residents of the surrounding, two-thirds of the burnt villages dragged the new houses built for them to the old - settled and already infected - places by logs, collected radioactive grain, potatoes baked in the ground in the fields ... And for a long time the old-timers of Bogdanovka, Fedorovka and the village of Sorochinsky remembered strange glow of firewood. The woodpile, made of trees charred in the area of the explosion, glowed in the dark with a greenish fire.

Mice, rats, rabbits, sheep, cows, horses and even insects that had been in the "zone" were subjected to close examination... a day of training with dry rations wrapped in almost a two-centimeter layer of rubber ... He was immediately taken for research. The next day, all soldiers and officers were transferred to a regular diet. Delicacies disappeared. "

They were returning from the Totsk training ground, according to the memoirs of Stanislav Ivanovich Kazanov, they were not in the freight train in which they arrived, but in a normal passenger car. Moreover, their composition was passed without the slightest delay. Stations flew by: an empty platform on which a lone stationmaster stood and saluted. The reason was simple. In the same train, in a special car, Semyon Mikhailovich Budyonny was returning from the exercises.

“In Moscow, at the Kazan station, the marshal was waiting for a magnificent meeting,” recalls Kazanov. “Our cadets of the sergeant school did not receive any insignia, special certificates, or awards ... The gratitude that the Minister of Defense Bulganin announced to us, we also did not receive anywhere later ".

The pilots who dropped the nuclear bomb were each awarded a Pobeda brand car for the successful completion of this mission. At the analysis of the exercises, the crew commander Vasily Kutyrchev received the Order of Lenin from the hands of Bulganin and, ahead of schedule, the rank of colonel.

The results of combined arms exercises with the use of nuclear weapons were labeled "top secret."

The participants of the Totsk exercises were not given any documents, they appeared only in 1990, when they were equated in rights with Chernobyl victims.

Of the 45 thousand soldiers who took part in the Totsk exercises, a little more than 2 thousand are now alive. Half of them are officially recognized as invalids of the first and second groups, 74.5% have diseases of the cardiovascular system, including hypertension and cerebral atherosclerosis, another 20.5% have diseases of the digestive system, and 4.5% have malignant neoplasms. and blood diseases.

Ten years ago in Totsk - at the epicenter of the explosion - a memorial sign was erected: a stele with bells. Every September 14, they will call in memory of all the victims of radiation at the Totsk, Semipalatinsk, Novaya Zemlya, Kapustin-Yarsk and Ladoga test sites.
Give rest, O Lord, to the souls of Thy servants who have fallen asleep...

When Lawrence began to pester Oppenheimer with questions about what he was thinking at the time of the explosion, the creator of the atomic bomb looked darkly at the journalist and quoted lines from the sacred Indian book Bhagavad Gita to him:

If the shine of a thousand suns [mountains]
Flashes together in the sky
Man becomes Death
Earth threat.

On the same day at dinner, amid the painful silence of his colleagues, Kistyakovsky said:

I am sure that before the end of the world, in the last millisecond of the existence of the Earth, the last person will see the same thing that we have seen today." Ovchinnikov V.V. Hot ash. - M.: Pravda, 1987, pp. 103-105.

"On the evening of July 16, 1945, just before the opening of the Potsdam Conference, a dispatch was delivered to Truman, which, even after decoding, was read as a doctor's report. : "The operation was done this morning. The diagnosis is still incomplete, but the results seem satisfactory and already exceed expectations. Dr. Groves is pleased." Ovchinnikov V.V. Hot ash. - M.: Pravda, 1987, p.108.

On this topic:

On July 9, 1972, an underground nuclear explosion was staged in the densely populated Kharkov region to extinguish a burning gas borehole. Today, only a few people know that a nuclear explosion was arranged near Kharkov. Its explosive power was only three times less than that of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

On September 22, 2001, the United States tightened sanctions against India and Pakistan, imposed in 1998 after these countries tested nuclear weapons. In 2002, these countries were on the brink of nuclear war.

On April 1, 2009, the world welcomed the statement of the Presidents of the Russian Federation and the United States of America, Barack Obama commitment to a world free of nuclear weapons and the fulfillment of obligations under article VI of the non-proliferation treaty with a view to further reducing and limiting strategic offensive arms.

September 26 - Day of Struggle for the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons. The only absolute guarantee that nuclear weapons will never be used is their total elimination. This was stated by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, which is celebrated on September 26.

"Convinced that nuclear disarmament and the total elimination of nuclear weapons are the only absolute guarantee against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons", the General Assembly proclaimed 26 September "International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons", which is intended to promote the implementation of the total elimination of nuclear weapons. weapons by mobilizing international efforts. First proposed in October 2013 in a resolution (A/RES/68/32) was the result of a summit meeting on nuclear disarmament held in the UN General Assembly on September 26, 2013. The International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons was first celebrated in

Koh Kambaran. Pakistan decided to conduct its first nuclear tests in the province of Balochistan. The charges were placed in an adit dug in the Koh Kambaran mountain and blown up in May 1998. Local residents almost never look into this area, with the exception of a few nomads and herbalists.

Maralinga. The area in southern Australia where atmospheric nuclear weapons tests took place was once thought to be local residents sacred. As a result, twenty years after the end of the tests, a second operation was organized to clean up Maraling. The first was carried out after the final test in 1963.

Save In the Indian empty Thar state of Rajasthan on May 18, 1974, an 8 kiloton bomb was tested. In May 1998, charges were already blasted at the Pokhran test site - five pieces, among them a thermonuclear charge of 43 kilotons.

Bikini Atoll. Bikini Atoll is located in the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean, where the United States actively conducted nuclear tests. Other explosions were rarely captured on film, but these were filmed quite often. Still - 67 tests in the interval from 1946 to 1958.

Christmas Island. Christmas Island, also known as Kiritimati, is distinguished by the fact that both Britain and the United States conducted nuclear weapons tests on it. In 1957, the first British hydrogen bomb was detonated there, and in 1962, as part of the Dominic Project, the United States tested 22 charges there.

Lobnor. At the site of a dried-up salt lake in western China, about 45 warheads were blown up - both in the atmosphere and underground. Testing was terminated in 1996.

Mururoa. atoll in the south Pacific Ocean survived a lot - or rather, 181 tests of French nuclear weapons from 1966 to 1986. The last charge got stuck in an underground mine and, during the explosion, formed a crack several kilometers long. After this, the tests were terminated.

New Earth. The archipelago in the Arctic Ocean was chosen for nuclear testing on September 17, 1954. Since then, 132 nuclear explosions have been carried out there, including a test of the most powerful hydrogen bomb in the world - "Tsar bombs" in 58 megatons.

Semipalatinsk. From 1949 to 1989 at least 468 nuclear tests were carried out at the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site. So much plutonium accumulated there that from 1996 to 2012, Kazakhstan, Russia and the United States conducted a secret operation to search for and collect and dispose of radioactive materials. It was possible to collect about 200 kg of plutonium.

Nevada. The Nevada test site, which has existed since 1951, breaks all records - 928 nuclear explosions, of which 800 are underground. Considering that the test site is located only 100 kilometers from Las Vegas, mushroom mushrooms were considered quite a normal part of entertainment for tourists half a century ago.