Nuclear Technopolitics in the Soviet Union and Beyond – An Introduction

Nuclear energy epitomizes the ambiguity of high modernity like no other technology. In the history of the Soviet Union, it played an exceptionally prominent role, initially accelerating its ascent to superpower status and bolstering its visions of the future, but eventually hastening its demise in the wake of the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. There can be little doubt that without nuclear weapons, the Soviet Union would not have been able to consolidate its hard-won victory in World War II and to achieve superpower status. Here, Guth et al discuss the nuclear technopolitics in the Soviet Union.