Nuclear Russia: The Atom in Russian Politics and Culture

by Paul Josephson, Stephen M. Norris (Series Editor), Paul Josephson

In the first cultural and political history of the Russian nuclear age, Paul Josephson describes the rise of nuclear physics in the USSR, the enthusiastic pursuit of military and peaceful nuclear programs through the Chernobyl disaster and the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the ongoing, self-proclaimed 'renaissance' of nuclear power in Russia in the 21st century. At the height of their power, the Soviets commanded 39,000 nuclear warheads, yet claimed to be servants of the 'peaceful atom' – which they also pursued avidly. This book examines both military and peaceful Soviet and post-Soviet nuclear programs for the long durée – before the war, during the Cold War, and in Russia to the present – whilst also grappling with the political and ideological importance of nuclear technologies, the associated economic goals, the social and environmental costs, and the cultural embrace of nuclear power.

Nuclear Russia probes the juncture of history of science and technology, political and cultural history, and environmental history. It considers the atom in Russian society as a reflection of Leninist technological utopianism, Cold War imperatives, scientific hubris, public acceptance, and a state desire to conquer nature. Furthermore the book examines the vital – and perhaps unexpected – significance of ethnicity and gender in nuclear history by looking at how Kazakhs and Nenets lost their homelands and their health in Russia in the wake of nuclear testing, as well as the surprising sexualization of the taming of the female atom in the Russian 'Miss Atom' contests that commenced in the 21st century.

160 pages, Hardcover

Published March 9, 2023

Reviews

[Dmitry · Rating 2 out of 5]

(The English review is placed beneath the Russian one)

Сюда не посягнёт чужеродная орда
Если от своих сетей ты пароли все отдашь
Ради великого бога и против темной силы
Мы у ядерных ракет танцуем с кадилом

Название этой книги выбрано не правильно, ибо эта книга является исторической, а не политической и она не о РФ, а о Советском Союзе. Как легко можно догадаться книга об истории создания советского ядерного оружия, а также о ядерных испытаниях, что проводил СССР. Книга небольшая, поэтому прочитать её не составит большого труда, так же книга написана в довольно доступной манере. Тем не менее, книга ориентирована на ту аудиторию, которой интересна история создания советского ядерного оружия, а не сегодняшний политический вопрос, связанный с сегодняшней российско-украинской войной. Более того, данная книга никак не поможет прояснить сегодняшний вопрос, связанный с российским ядерным оружием. Да, автор в самом конце своей книги пишет и о современной России, но всё что он упоминает, напоминает больше новостные сводки, нежели полноценный анализ.

Что касается исторического вопроса, то книга написана довольно сухо и поэтому, опять же, будет интересна только любителям истории и/или истории Советского Союза. Хотя я не являюсь большим любителем ни темы ядерного оружия ни темы истории Советского Союза, я не нашёл ничего нового и особо интересного, за исключением вопроса проведения ядерных испытаний СССР, а также хранения и утилизации ядерный отходов. Именно этот момент меня больше всего потряс. Как многие знают, СССР испытывал ядерное оружие в контексте того, сможет ли советская пехота преодолеть радиоактивное заражение после того как ядерная бомба будет сброшена. Другими словами, произошла чудовищная история, когда СССР на собственных солдатах испытывал воздействие радиации. Автор пишет, что и Западные страны это делали, но ни в книге, ни где-либо ещё я об этом не читал. В любом случаи испытания радиации над собственными солдатами является очередным преступлением советского руководства, за которое они так и не понесли заслуженное наказание. Так же тут стоит отметить вторую очень важную и серьёзную тему – хранение и утилизация ядерных отходов (или чего-то подобного), которое, как пишет автор, нанесло невообразимо большой ущерб как жителям РСФСР так и природе того региона, где произошла катастрофа (утечка радиации). Получается, что ядерное оружие нанесло больше вреда в мирное время, нежели в военное время. В связи с чем, возникает вопрос особенно актуальный для жителей сегодняшней РФ: насколько хорошо хранятся нынешние ядерные отходы и насколько безопасно хранится ядерные оружие, учитывая огромное число техногенных катастроф в РФ?

The title of this book is wrongly chosen, for this book is historical, not political, and it is not about the Russian Federation but about the Soviet Union. As you can easily guess the book is about the history of Soviet nuclear weapons, as well as the nuclear tests that were conducted by the USSR. The book is small, so it's not too challenging to read, as well as the book is written in a fairly accessible style. Nevertheless, the book is aimed at an audience that is interested in the history of Soviet nuclear weapons rather than the current political issue surrounding the current Russian-Ukrainian war. Moreover, this book does not help in any way to clarify the current issue of Russian nuclear weapons. Yes, the author writes about modern Russia at the very end of his book, but everything he mentions is more like a news report than a full-fledged analysis.

As for the historical issue, the book is written rather dryly and, therefore, again, will only be of interest to history buffs and/or the history of the Soviet Union. Although I am not a big fan of either the topic of nuclear weapons or the history of the Soviet Union, I did not find anything new or particularly interesting, except for the issue of nuclear testing in the USSR, as well as the storage and disposal of nuclear waste. It was this point that shocked me the most. As many know, the USSR tested nuclear weapons in the context of whether Soviet infantry could overcome radioactive contamination after a nuclear bomb was dropped. In other words, there was a horrible story of the USSR testing the effects of radiation on its own soldiers. The author writes that Western countries did this as well, but I haven't read about it in the book or anywhere else. In any case, testing radiation on their own soldiers is another crime of the Soviet leadership, for which they have never been punished. Also here it is worth mentioning the second very important and serious topic - storage and utilization of nuclear waste (or something similar), which, as the author writes, caused unimaginably great damage to both the inhabitants of the RSFSR and the nature of the region where the catastrophe occurred (radiation leakage). It turns out that nuclear weapons have done more damage in peacetime than in wartime. In this connection, a question arises, especially relevant for the residents of today's RF: how well is the current nuclear waste stored, and how safe are nuclear weapons stored, given the huge number of man-made disasters in the Russian Federation?

[Hugh Wright · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice short book which explores the development of nuclear science in Russia chronologically. Focuses on the tension between the peaceful and military programmes.

I found the history of development particularly interesting because the starting point is essentially the bomb project which was done through a combination of espionage, domestic science and a Russian equivalent of Operation Paper Clip with captured German scientists and all within the context of Stalinist terror years.

I was surprised to find myself most interested in the civil applications during the Cold War and all the novel implementations. However, what stood out most was how the default repressive character of government combined with the secrecy of atomic projects incubated a blasé and safety ambivalent culture which brought you such hits as Chernobyl and Lake Changan (a still irradiated nuclear lake created with a ‘peaceful nuclear explosion’ in an effort to make a new reservoir.

It’s noteworthy that this wasn’t a uniquely Russian phenomenon, but the American equivalent ‘Project Ploughshare’ only detonated 27 nukes compared to the soviets 124 as a part of their ‘Nuclear Explosions for the National Economy’ program. My quite obvious takeaway was that transparency leads to responsibility.

[Nicole Franiok Laiveling · Rating 3 out of 5]

So. Many. Typos.