A Study Of Soviet Nuclear Research Centres During The Cold War

In August 1945,in order to break the U.S.nuclear monopoly and maintain national security and strategic balance of power,the Soviet Union implemented the "nuclear programme" with all the strength of the country.As a major national strategic project of the Soviet Union during the Cold War to counterbalance the U.S.nuclear deterrence and develop its own nuclear power,the nuclear programme was not a product of the Cold War,but the nuclear weapons development led by the Soviet Union was an important reason affecting the U.S.S.R.Cold War and the arms race.In order to meet military needs and continuously improve their comprehensive and tactical technical performance,both the physical research and the commissioning of nuclear weapons require the participation of the scientific and technological basis for their continued development-the Nuclear Research Centre(ЯЦ for short).Including the 11 th Design Institute(КБ-11),established in Sarov in 1946,and the1011 th Research Institute(НИИ-1011),built in Snezhinsk in 1954,were important scientific research institutions set up by the USSR to solve the complex tasks of national defence,science and the national economy,and the Soviet Union’s various types of nuclear weapons and thermonuclear weapons were produced by ЯЦ.All types of Soviet nuclear and thermonuclear weapons were produced at the Institute.The Nuclear Centre represented the highest level of Soviet nuclear science and technology.This paper examines the development of the Soviet nuclear centre during the Cold War period,using mainly declassified Soviet archives,compilations of special historical data and memoirs of atomic scientists.It mainly consists of three parts: introduction,body and conclusion.The introduction part introduces the significance of the topic and concept definition,the current status of research at home and abroad,the research methodology and writing ideas,the sources of information,and the innovations and shortcomings of this paper.The main part is mainly written according to three themes: the impact of nuclear centres in science and technology,military and socio-economic aspects.The first part is Chapter 1,which mainly introduces the establishment,development,characteristics of the Soviet nuclear centre and its important role in the development of Soviet nuclear weapons from the perspective of history of science and technology.Nuclear weapons technology is a multidisciplinary and comprehensive science and technology,which requires the co-operation of multiple disciplines and specialised fields to study the physical processes,characteristics and changing laws of nuclear weapons at all stages of development.After the basic principles and scientific concepts have been demonstrated by physical and engineering feasibility,it is necessary to design the best material combination configuration,form the physical design of the principle test nuclear device,propose and implement the local decomposition experiments in the laboratory or the blast site,and then deliver the engineering design,the overall design,and finally process and manufacture the nuclear explosion test device.From the development of atomic bombs,hydrogen bombs to various types of nuclear weapons,both nuclear research and nuclear deployment require the leadership and participation of highly specialised military-industrial research organisations-nuclear centres.The second part is Chapters 2 and 3,which mainly introduce the formation and development of Soviet strategic nuclear forces and the nuclear arms race with the United States under the leadership of the nuclear centre from the perspective of military history,especially military technology;discuss the transmutation of nuclear security relations between the two sides on the basis of the "nuclear equilibrium" reached by the United States and the Soviet Union in the latter part of the Cold War,and make a focused research on some typical cases to illustrate the role of the nuclear centre in the defence and security of the United States.It also focuses on some typical cases to illustrate the important role of nuclear centres in the field of nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear arms control and their far-reaching impact on international relations.Chapter 2 examines the nuclear arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union,with the construction and improvement of the nuclear weapons and missile industrial complex in the Urals region,Soviet nuclear weapons and missile technology entered a fast track of synergistic development,and after the "Cuban Missile Crisis",the nuclear centre ushered in a new period of development.The Soviet nuclear centre was involved in the research and development of strategic nuclear missile technology,providing technical support for the deployment and application of strategic missile forces,and the nuclear strategic thinking of several generations of leaders of the nuclear centre constituted a complete set of multi-level ideological legacy and policy planning,which played an important role in the understanding of the U.S.and Soviet Union’s Cold War and the nuclear arms race.Chapter 3 discusses the transmutation of the nuclear security relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union on the basis of the "nuclear equilibrium" reached between the two countries in the late Cold War,and explains the important role of the Nuclear Centre in the field of nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear arms control and its far-reaching impact on global nuclear security governance.During the Cold War,the process of transmutation of the nuclear security relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union in terms of nuclear arsenals from quantitative to qualitative competition and from nuclear confrontation to nuclear balance was accompanied by the global proliferation of nuclear technology,with nuclear technology being mastered by both legitimate and illegitimate nuclear states,and nuclear weapons no longer being monopolised by the two United States and Soviet Union nuclear powers.In order to prevent nuclear proliferation and strengthen global nuclear security governance,the Nuclear Centre of the USSR proposes to prevent nuclear terrorism through the control of nuclear materials,the construction of a national nuclear safeguards system and the prevention of nuclear terrorism.In the field of nuclear arms control,the Nuclear Centre of the USSR has played an indispensable role in providing strong technical support and governance functions in the areas of banning the use of nuclear weapons and the nuclear test ban,limiting and reducing the size of nuclear weapons,and developing and applying verification technologies.The third part,chapters 4 and 5,describes the important contribution of the Nuclear Center in the field of peaceful uses of atomic energy in the USSR in terms of socio-economic impact,from the perspective of the construction of nuclear power plants,experimental and industrial applications of nuclear explosion technology and national economic applications of radioisotope technology;and the Nuclear Center’s career of training atomic scientists in terms of the main sources,management,treatment and safeguard policies,and the mode of training of special personnel.Chapter 4 describes the unique role of nuclear centers in the peaceful use of atomic energy in the USSR.The USSR was the first country in the world to build a nuclear power plant,and the Nuclear Center organized the development of multiple types of reactor power plants,from the Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant with channel-type uranium-graphite reactors,to the Novovoronezh Nuclear Power Plant with pressurized-water power reactors,and to the Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant with high-power channel-type boiling uranium-graphite reactors.In the field of experimental and industrial applications of nuclear explosion technology,the Nuclear Centre,making use of its rich experience and accumulated technology in the development of nuclear weapons and the organization of nuclear tests,has taken the lead in the formation of the Industrial Nuclear Explosive Organization(INEO),in which the Centre’s atomic scientists have developed various types of special nuclear charges for nuclear explosions for peaceful purposes.The radioisotopes produced by the Nuclear Centre have a wide range of applications in the national economy and play an irreplaceable role in industrial and agricultural production,health care,etc.In addition,the Nuclear Centre actively engages in international cooperation in the research and application of radioisotopes and makes an important contribution to the socio-economic development of the USSR and the countries of the socialist camp.Chapter 5 examines the role of nuclear centers in the training of atomic scientists in the USSR.At the early stage of the nuclear program,the main sources of atomic scientists included temporary secondment from various parts of the country,training in colleges and universities,and recruitment from abroad,etc.The authorities of the nuclear program implemented a special management system for atomic scientists,with considerable salary and perfect social welfare protection.From "night institute" to "training experts in the line of fire",the nuclear center is unconventional,with rich practice and full trust to train a generation of excellent atomic scientists,known as "the cradle of atomic scientists",its echelon is reasonable,and there are many talented people.After the collapse of the USSR,it continued to play a role in nuclear research in the Russian Federation.The conclusion part makes a general evaluation and summary of the development of nuclear centers and national security and socio-economic issues in the Soviet Union during the Cold War period,and provides reference for global nuclear security governance and strategic security issues of great powers on the basis of the historical experience of the Cold War and the lessons learned.The existence of the nuclear military-industrial complex,represented by the Nuclear Center,effectively ensured the strategic security of the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation after its dissolution,and the organizational structure of the Nuclear Center has preserved the "legacy of the nuclear program" of the Soviet era in a relatively intact manner,and its reliable technical support for nuclear arms control and non-proliferation has made an important contribution to global nuclear security governance since the end of the Cold War.Its reliable technical support for nuclear arms control and nonproliferation has also contributed significantly to global nuclear security governance since the end of the Cold War.