AN EXPLANATION OF THE PURSUIT THE SOVIET UNION’S PURSUIT OF THE ATOMIC BOMB

Introduction

The United States was the country that led the way in matters concerning the atomic bomb. For some time, it was thought that they had a monopoly over nuclear power. However, in the year 1949, the Soviet Union put an end to this myth by launching their first atomic bomb. There were a number of reasons that brought the Soviet to such a level and these shall be examined in detail subsequently.

Reasons behind the pursuit of the atomic bomb
The Second World War had a large role to play in pushing the Soviet Union to such a point. The world war two caused a lot of death and destruction during the six years that it occurred. While these effects were important in history, many people have forgotten just how important that war was in propelling the Soviets to engage in a nuclear program. (McCauley, 1996)
The world war was quite influential owing to the fact that it caused an alliance between western based powers and the east. In the west, the United States emerged as a super power, in the east, the Soviet Union was the most dominating amongst the others. This was the point at which tensions mounted between the two groups. Eventually, the Soviet Union and the United States fell out thus leading to increased enmity between the two camps. Eventually this led to the events of the cold war that were depicted by the atomic bomb under the Soviet regime.
American aggression against the Soviet Union was heightened by the agreement that the Soviet Union had made with Nazi Germany in the year 1939. The purpose of this pact was to protect Germany against aggression from the Soviet Union. This was something that did not go down well with the Americans and thus added onto the tensions between these two nations.
The pact was also instrumental in leading the Soviets to pursue the atomic bomb because of another aspect in the pact. Poland was an important party in the Second World War, however after signing the Soviet-Germany pact, this country was divided right down the middle. Additionally, the pact guaranteed neutrality of the parties when either one of them was attacked by another power. Stalin was instrumental in the establishment of this pact because of the fact that he felt other European powers such as France and Britain did not want to join them in the process; consequently, the Soviet were on their own. They had to look for other parties that would guarantee their security. By making an agreement with Germany, the Soviet became direct enemies of the US because they represented totally different opinions. This meant that the Soviet had to look for a way of protecting themselves against possible American aggression after making such a move. (Cahn, 1998)

In line with the above assertion is the fact that in the year 1941, the supposed ally Germany staged an attack against the Soviet Union. This was the point at which things took a slight turn. The United States and Britain realized that despite their apprehension about the Soviet, they has a much worse enemy in their hands known as the Germans. At that time, they realized that the Soviets did not have sufficient weaponry to handle Germany and if left alone, the Soviets would be subdued by the Germans. Consequently, the latter mentioned western states offered to give their support to the Soviets. This was however short lived. Britain asserted that they could not assist the Soviets because their supplies were rather low. On the other hand, the US also claimed that assisting the Soviets would be a direct violation of the foreign policy which was that of isolation. Again, failure to get support from western powers caused further hostilities between the two regions; East and West.

It should also be noted that most of the focus by the Americans was in the pacific region. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States chose to retaliate by staging an attack against Japan in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The latter fact was one of the reaon that propeeled the US to utilize its newly discovered power. However, the other reason that many analysts have claimed is depiction of military supremacy. Proponents of this idea assert that there are so many other routes that the US could have used to tackle Japan but by displaying their nuclear might, they were trying to show the Soviets that they were militarily stronger than they were.

The Soviet Union got this message loud and clear. However, they were still trying to handle the German attack. Part of their response to this message was by defeating the German army without any support from western powers. Also, this was the point at which an arms race began between the two countries i.e. the US and Soviet Union. These countries wanted to display to each other that they were superior to the other and in order to do this, they had to employ the use of the latest technology in warfare. At that time, it entailed the nuclear program. The Soviet began this program to indicate to the US and indeed the rest of the world that they had the ability to handle anything that came their way. (Brands, 1993)

Aside from political reasons, another major reason that could have caused the Soviet to pursue the development of a nuclear program was the development and availability of scientific knowledge necessary to create the atomic bomb. The United States had spearheaded the discovery of the atomic bomb. However, Russia still had its own scientists who were just as capable of carrying out nuclear programs as the former country. Also, the Soviet had uranium deposits which are essential ingredients in the creation of an atomic bomb. This meant that if the Soviet was interested in a nuclear program, they would have sufficient supplies for it.
It should also be noted that in the nineteen thirties, nuclear fission as part of physicals sciences became an interesting phenomenon to the Soviets as it did to many other groups around the world. Prior to the discovery of nuclear fission, most scientists in the Soviet dedicated their time and energy towards establishment of a better economy in their country. Many of them believed that there were minimal instances in which one could apply nuclear reactions because it was not thought of as something practical. However, these perceptions changed adversely after the realization that the atomic nucleus of uranium was capable of disseminating immense levels of energy. If harnessed correctly, the energies could be applied in human beings’ lives.
After the nineteen thirties, most Soviet scientists along with their counterparts in the rest of the world gained a renewed interest in atomic energy. Some of them even changed their areas of study just so that they could contribute towards this field. Consequently, expertise in the Soviet grew immensely. In the year 1941, the first project on nuclear fission in the Soviet was conducted by a scientist known as Yakov Frenkel.

Given the latter ideas, it can be seen that the Soviet became interested in a nuclear program, and the development of the atomic bomb because the human resources and intelligence required to achieve this were adequate enough. Additionally, it was part of the technological progression that was going on in the rest of the world and the Soviets were only going with the tide. (Strayer, 1998)

It should also be noted that Stalin had an important part to play in this program. Stalin was a well know ideologist. His ideas were in complete contradiction to those of the United States. Consequently, he had to be on the lookout for any moves that the Soviet’s enemies were making as time progressed. One of Stalin’s scientists known as Georgii Flerov told Stalin that there were no published items about nuclear programs. This was the case for the following advanced countries
· US
· Germany
· Britain
· France

Given this state of non action, Stalin began getting worried that there may be some secret work going in those countries. His concerns were valid given that it had been three years since the discovery of nuclear fission. The latter fact was further compounded by advice given to Stalin by one of his key scientists. They prompted the latter leader to give the go ahead with regard to development of a nuclear program. In other words, fear was an important factor in understanding why the Soviet Union chose to take up the stance that they took during the war.

It should be noted that in order to carry out an effective nuclear program, it is absolutely necessary for any country to have secure nuclear supplies. In this case uranium is an essential component. As it has been stated earlier, during the early stages of the nuclear development program, the Soviet Union largely focused on their own domestic sources. However, after adequate growth of this sector, it was found that there was a need for greater investment in the area. (Degroot, 2005)

In response to this need, the Soviets decided to utilize their agreement with the Germans. The latter country had already engaged in a nuclear program but had not succeeded. Consequently, Germany had a lot of spare uranium deposits that could be used by the Soviets. This uranium had been acquired after attacking Belgium. The Belgians were also able to obtain these resources from West Africa; the latter region had been part of their colonial interests. The following are other countries that provided the Soviets with uranium needed for the atomic bomb project
· Poland
· Bulgaria
· Czechoslovakia
· East Germany
· Domestic sources

It should be noted that all the countries were rich in their own mineral ores. However, even the presence of ores in the Soviet itself was instrumental in the growth of the nuclear program hence the development of the atomic bomb.

The continual availability of these resources heightened the confidence that the Soviet Union had about their ability to develop an atomic bomb. This display was visible when the Soviet launched their first atomic bomb in the year 1949. This was done in an area that had been artificially created. There were bridges and other structures created and animals placed there. These creatures and structures were necessary in depicting the effects of the Soviet Union’s atomic bomb. The Soviet was therefore able to show the United States and the rest of the world that their national security was superior enough and that they were ready for anything.
In fact, this continuous arms race was the main propelling factor in the development of the nuclear program involving the atomic bomb and also in the program involving the hydrogen bomb. (Strayer, 1998)

After the Soviet Union launched their atomic bomb in1949, the United States was propelled into action. The next year, 1950, the country decided to draft a cold war strategy that was aimed at ensuring that the US was always ahead of the Soviet Union in terms of nuclear or technological advancement in weaponry. This was the approach adopted by the US in subsequent years up to the point when the cold war ended. It should be noted that the atomic bomb project was fuelled by an arms race that eventually exhausted the Soviet Union and even contributed to its failed existence in subsequent years. All in all, this competition between the two countries was the major reason behind the development of the nuclear weapons program in the Soviet.

An explanation of the pursuit of the atomic bomb by the Soviet Union
The atomic bomb development program began properly in the year 1942. At that time, the Soviet had been spying on other super powers such as Britain and North America. Also, the Soviets created a report known as the MAUD report. Its writings were based on espionage information in the US. This information was not something that formed the basis of the scientific work. In fact, it was utilized as a check that would ensure accuracy of the reports given by the Soviet scientists working on the project.

This strict adherence to secrecy was as a result of the nature of the Soviet’s administrators. They were rather strict. It should also be noted that the Soviet nuclear program was largely as a result of intelligence information gathered and also as a result of prior work done by American scientists. After the Nagasaki and Hiroshima attack, the Americans wrote down a report known as Smyth that included all the details surrounding the creation of their nuclear program. The Soviets used this as a template for the development of their own programs. Most of them were able to understand some of the details made out in the report and this is what they followed to acquire material and to develop factories. (Powers, 1999)

The reason behind this replica of the American program was the fact that the Soviets themselves did not have adequate time to come up with their own kind nuclear weapons programs. They knew that they had to act fast if they were stay ahead of their competitors in other regions of the world. Beside this, the American way had been tried and proven in Japan and this meant that if the Soviets could follow a similar route, then chances were that they would suceed.

It should be noted that the development of the program was controlled thoroughly by intelligence chiefs. One such leader was known as Lavrentiy Beria. During the years 1945 and beyond, Beria was very protective over intelligence information within the country. This was because he was well aware of the fact that scientists could leak information to their enemy camps at any one time. Also, there were different approaches to the development of nuclear programs in the Soviet. The latter mentioned leader was fond of assigning different teams to work on similar projects. These teams were independent of one another and would only discover the existence of the other team when they would meet on a round table to explain to their leader why they came up with differing results. In fact this strict and high handed manner of dealing with the nuclear program led to a struggle for perfection among the scientists. Most of them believed that they had to give their best in the nuclear program in order to achieve approval from Beria. Consequently, the latter administrator played a crucial role in making the development of the atomic bomb a reality. In fact, after the year 1945, all national security matters revolved round creation of an atomic bomb in the Soviet Union. Hogan, 1998)
In other words, the espionage played two major roles in propelling the development of the nuclear program in the Soviet. First of all, it was instrumental in preventing the Soviets from engaging in dangerous tests that would be designed with the purpose of determining what the critical mass of the project would be. Additionally, the espionage was important in saving up time that would have been wasted if the country had taken up their own initiatives in the project.
Reason of rteh war

Conclusion
The Soviet was a superpower of the East and wanted to prove its might through a nuclear program. This was only possible through the atomic bomb project. Additionally, Stalin as the Soviet’s leader played a part in this because of his suspicion of other nations. The program w as also made possible by alliances that the Soviet had entered into e.g. through Germany and also because of the availability of both mineral and human resources required to carry out this program. These were the major causes of the pursuance of such a program by the Soviet.

References

McCauley, M. (1996): The Origins of the Cold War; London, Longman Publishers
Cahn, A. (1998): Killing Détente; Pennsylvania University Press
Powers, R. (1999): The history of American anti-communism; London, Free Press
Brands, H. (1993): The Devil we knew; The Cold war and America; Oxford, Oxford University Press
Strayer, R. (1998): Why did the Soviet Union Collapse; London, Sharpe Publishers
Hogan, M. (1998): Origins of the National Security State; England, Cambridge University Press
Degroot, G. (2005): The Bomb- A life; Cambridge, Harvard University Press

The author of this article is a holder of Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from Harvard University and currently pursing PhD Program. He is also a professional academic writer. href="http://researchpapers247.com"> ResearchPapers247.Com>