Overview

The public could get acquainted with Igor Vasilyevich Kurchatov (1903-1960) only after the XX. Congress of the CPSU. Thanks to his skills and the interplay of coincidences, the talented nuclear physicist and capable organizer took the lead in the Soviet nuclear project during World War II. Initially, the "party and government" approached the nuclear weapon without much interest, but reports from US spies and later the dropping of the first atomic bomb gave rise to unprecedented races. With the extraordinary material and intelligence support of the head of the secret service, P. L. Berija, Soviet scientists gained an American lead. Secret American studies have saved them several years of work. Kurchatov and his people were lucky, not only scientific and technological, but also human. Success in Stalin's empire was rewarded with orders, dachas and cars, failure was considered betrayal ...