Memorable Dates of Russia: Exhibition, marking the 120th anniversary since the birth of the first nuclear physicists, opened in Kaluga Region

The Museum of the History of Obninsk in Kaluga Region presents an exhibition marking the 120th anniversary since the birth of the first nuclear physicists Igor Kurchatov, Alexander Leipunsky and Anatoly Alexandrov. All three of them were born in 1903; their destinies were united in Obnisk, – Natalia Prusakova, head of the museum’s History Department, said.

 “The exposition dedicated to the 120th anniversary of our first academicians brings together rare exhibits, personal belongings, archival documents and materials from the museum’s collections. As for Kurchatov, he was a very secretive person, thus the few things that we managed to find and preserve are unique and valuable. The exhibits include a photo of the house where Kurchatov lived during the launch of the nuclear power plant, as well as a photo of Kurchatov against the background of the world’s first nuclear power plant”, – Natalia Prusakova stated.

The exhibition presents materials collected after the removal of the secrecy stamp, including a mock-up of the first K-3 submarine, the technological channel of the BR-5 experimental fast reactor, and a mock-up of the Project 705 hunter boat.

Visitors to the exhibition, which will run until February 26, 2023, have an opportunity to learn about Stalin’s order on the creation of a nuclear submarine fleet, as well as about Igor Kurchatov’s order on the training of relevant personnel.

In the naukograd (science city), the so-called 75th building was created under the leadership of Anatoly Alexandrov, where a prototype of the reactor and turbine installations of a life-size nuclear submarine was placed. Thanks to Alexandrov, a training center was opened in Obninsk, where submariners began to study in 1956. Alexander Leipunsky determined the main areas of research that are still being carried out at the Institute of Physics and Energy. Igor Kurchatov became famous as the head of the USSR atomic project and the father of the Soviet atomic bomb.