An exhibition at the State Archive, which runs until Sunday, is devoted to the anniversary of the Soviet bomb and showcases a fascinating collection of previously classified materials related to its construction.
“We are glad to show everyone these priceless historical documents. For a long time they were hidden from the public, but we managed to gain access to them. Our ultimate aim is to tell the truth about the first Soviet nuclear bomb,” said Sergei Mironenko, the State Archive’s director.
Many of the exhibition’s items were formerly in the presidential archive and were transferred to the State Archive only a few months ago.
“This exhibit reveals all the problems and hard work that stood behind the creation of the bomb,” said Arkady Brish, a member of the Soviet team that built the weapon, speaking at the opening of the exhibition earlier this year.
Sergei Davydov, the man responsible for pushing the button that sent the world into the nuclear arms race, recalled that event with pride.
“I let the genie out of the bottle and it brought peace to our continent,” said Davydov. When asked if others might find this statement controversial, he smiled and replied, “They would be right. The Soviet bomb brought peace to the whole world.”
Apart from official correspondence there are also excerpts from the personal diaries of the physicists behind the bomb — Igor Kurchatov, who was head of the atomic bomb project, and Yuly Khariton, the chief designer.
The “Soviet Nuclear Project” exhibition is sponsored by Rosatom, the organization that oversees the country’s nuclear sector. Its head, Sergei Kiriyenko, as might be expected, put a positive spin on the nuclear race.
“The Soviet atomic bomb created parity between two major rivals of the Cold War and prevented a great armed conflict. That’s why we think this exhibit is so significant. It’s hard to describe the uniqueness of the items presented here. A picture is worth a thousand words,” said Kiriyenko.
Revealing the truth that German scientists and gulag prisoners alike worked on creating the Soviet bomb would have once meant a prison sentence. Visitors can now see documents that prove those parties’ contributions on the walls of the State Archive.
Along with official documents, the exhibit presents a film made during the bomb tests that was first shown as a report to Stalin after the successful test.
One prominent item on display is a small piece of battered soil — the “Black Pearl” — left after the destructive launching of the bomb. It was preserved by one of the scientists in Semipalatinsk.
The exhibition also has a fascinating collection of printed material from the time that charts the Soviet-U.S. rivalry both before and after the Soviets launched their first nuclear weapon.
A front page of Pravda features an interview with Stalin in which he dismisses the need for the nuclear bomb at the same time as the Soviet Union was putting as much effort as possible into building its own weapon.
The “Soviet Nuclear Project” runs till Sept. 20 at the State Archive. 17 Bolshaya Pirogovskaya Ulitsa. Metro Sportivnaya, Frunzenskaya. Tel. 245-8142.
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