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OTHER EPISODES |
People and Conceptsatomic bomb - the first form of nuclear weapon, based on nuclear fission Beria, Lavrenti - (1899-1953) Communist official selected by Stalin to run the Soviet atomic bomb project. Called "a talented organizer, but cruel, ruthless" by Molotov, and "my father's evil genius" by Stalin's daughter, Beria tortured and killed millions of citizens. capitalism - an economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods, by investments that are determined by private decision, and by prices, production, and the distribution of goods that are determined mainly by competition in a free market communism - a theoretical economic system characterized by the collective ownership of property and by the organization of labor for the common advantage of all members of society Communism - a system of government in which the state plans and controls the economy, and a single, often authoritarian party holds power, claiming to make progress toward a higher social order in which all goods are shared equally by the people democracy - government by the people, exercised either directly or through elected representatives dictatorship - government by a ruler having absolute governmental authority, especially one considered tyrannical or oppressive Fuchs, Karl - refugee from Nazi Germany who worked as a physicist in Britain and in the United States, and passed atomic bomb secrets to the Soviets in 1944-45 hydrogen bomb - a later, much stronger, version of a nuclear weapon, first exploded on November 1, 1952, based on nuclear fusion Khrushchev, Nikita - (1894-1971) leader of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, who later denounced Stalin and tried to put a "human face on socialism." In old age, he stated: "I was infected by Stalin, but liberated myself." Los Alamos - location of the laboratories of the American atomic bomb program in Alamagordo, New Mexico Los Arzamas - nickname given to the location of the Soviet atomic bomb program in St. Sarov, renamed Arzamas-16 Manhattan Project - code name of the U.S./British project to develop an atomic weapon; the Manhattan Project employed 120,000 people, and, over the course of three years, developed the atomic bombs that destroyed Hiroshima (August 6, 1956) and Nagasaki (August 9, 1945). Molotov, Vyacheslav - (1890-1986) Soviet government and Communist party leader. Member of the Politburo from 1921-1957 who was put in charge of the Soviet atomic program during the war, but later replaced by Beria. nationalization - conversion from private to governmental ownership and control Sakharov, Andrei - (1921-1989) physicist involved in the Soviet hydrogen bomb program who later campaigned for human rights socialism - a system or theory of social organization in which the producers possess both political power and the means of production and distribution Stalin, Josef - (1879-1953) Secretary-General of the Communist Party beginning in 1922 and premier of the Soviet Union from 1929 to his death totalitarianism - a state system based on monolithic unity and authoritarianism uranium - element used in production of atomic bombs; the force of splitting its nucleus causes the release of energy and an explosion |
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