# First Soviet atomic bomb (1949)

URL: https://history-russia.com/timeline/1949-first-soviet-atomic-bomb
Categories: main-event

The USSR tested its first atomic bomb, RDS-1, at the Semipalatinsk test site. Espionage helped the project, led by Igor Kurchatov under Lavrentiy Beria. Comecon was created the same year. The test began the nuclear arms race.

## Why it matters
The test began the nuclear arms race.

Ruler at the time: [Joseph Stalin](https://history-russia.com/rulers/joseph-stalin)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — RDS-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RDS-1)
- [Wikipedia — Soviet atomic bomb project](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_atomic_bomb_project)
- [Wikipedia — Khrushchev thaw](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khrushchev_thaw)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica topic lookup — First Soviet atomic bomb](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=First+Soviet+atomic+bomb)
- [Wikipedia — Timeline of Russian history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Russian_history)