Soviet atomic bomb program

Soviet atomic bomb project
Russian physicists Andrei Sakharov (left) with Igor Kurchatov who led the program to the success.
Operational scope	Operational R&D
Location	Atomgrad, Semipalatinsk, Chagan Lake
Planned by	NKVD, NKGB GRU, MGB, PGU
Date	1943–49
Executed by	Soviet Union
Outcome	The successful completion towards the feasibility of the nuclear weapon.

The Soviet atomic bomb project (Russian: Советский проект атомной бомбы) was the classified research and development program that was authorized by Joseph Stalin in the Soviet Union to developed the feasibility of the nuclear weapons during the World War II.

The program was initiated in response to the intelligence reports collected by the Soviet intelligence through their spy ring in the United States on their secretive Manhattan Project. Despite it remained largely an intelligence efforts until the end of the war, the program was highly successful due to the intelligence management by the Russian' intelligence agencies benefitted by the spy ring that conducted espionage in the United States.

Upon witnessing the conspicuous silence on the scientific publications on the fission by the German, American, and British scientists, Russian physicist, Georgy Flyorov, who had suspicion of Allied powers had secretly been putting efforts towards the "superweapon" since 1939, had written a letter to Stalin urging him to start the program in 1942. Initial efforts were slowed down due to the German invasion of the Soviet Union and largely remained on the intelligence knowledge gained from the spy rings working in the U.S.' Manhattan Project in 1943.