The Soviet Nuclear Archipelago : : A Historical Geography of Atomic-Powered Communism.

• Superior document: CEU Press Perspectives Series
• Author: Högselius, Per.
• TeilnehmendeR: Klüppelberg, Achim.
• Place / Publishing House: Budapest : : Central European University Press,, 2024.; ©2024.
• Year of Publication: 2024
• Edition: 1st ed.
• Language: English
• Series: CEU Press Perspectives Series
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (178 pages)

The war in Ukraine, with the exposure of nuclear power stations and the danger of atomic warfare, has made the legacy of the Soviet nuclear sector of critical importance. The two authors map the Soviet nuclear industry in a shifting historical context, making sense of a complex socio-technical and environmental history. Taking an innovative approach, this book explores the history of atomic power in the former Soviet Union using the spatial dimensions of the nuclear industry as a point of departure. The key concept is that of the archipelago - a network of nuclear facilities spread throughout the Soviet territory, but mutually reliant on each other and densely connected. The story traces the emergence of nuclear science and technology for military and civilian purposes through to the post-Soviet Russian nuclear corporations as providers of resources and technology. The book explains how nuclear developments in the Soviet Union interacted with processes of environmental and landscape change. The spatial lens offers an analytically fruitful and pedagogically stimulating way to comprehend the nuclear histories of the Soviet Union and its successor states.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Cultural Preparation -- 3. Bomb Geographies -- 4. Incepting Peaceful Atoms -- 5.The First Boom Phase -- 6.Winning New Territories -- 7. Evolving Macro-Entanglements -- 8.The Second Boom Phase -- 9. Towards Energy Complexes -- 10. Macro-Entanglements during the Second Boom Phase -- 11.The Post-Chernobyl Stagnation and the Third Boom Phase -- 12. Conclusion -- Acknowledgments -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index