The nuclear weapons tests of the Soviet Union were performed between 1949 and 1990 as part of the nuclear arms race. The Soviet Union conducted 715 nuclear tests using 969 total devices by official count, including 219 atmospheric, underwater, and space tests and 124 peaceful use tests. Official numbers and those in the table differ due to eleven tests, all fizzles, cited in other references and the one bomb left in its shaft when the Russians abandoned the Semipalatinsk site to Kazakhstan. Most of the tests took place at the Southern Test Site in Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan and the Northern Test Site at Novaya Zemlya. Other tests took place at various locations within the Soviet Union, including now-independent Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine and Turkmenistan.

List

+ Soviet Union's nuclear testing series summary - Link to world summary of nuclear weapons tests Series or years Years covered TestsIncludes all tests with potential for nuclear fission or fusion explosion, including combat use, singleton tests, salvo tests, zero yield fails, safety experiments, and bombs incapacitated by accidents but still intended to be fired. It does not include hydronuclear and subcritical tests, and misfires of a device which was subsequently fired successfully. Devices fired Devices with unknown yield Peaceful use tests Non-PTBT testsNumber of tests which would have been in violation of the Partial Test Ban Treaty of 1963, such as atmospheric, space or underwater tests. Some "peaceful use" cratering tests which should have been violations were protested, and later quietly dropped. Yield range (kilotons) "Small" refers to a value greater than zero but less than 0.5 kt. Total yield (kilotons) Some yields are described like "< 20 kt"; such are scored at one half of the numeric amount, i.e., yield of 10k in this example. "Unknown yield" adds nothing to the total. Notes 1949–1951 1949–1951

22 to 42

There were no Soviet tests in 1950. 1953 1953

2 to 400

1954 1954

small to 62

1955 1955

0 to 1,600

1956 1956

small to 900

1957 1957

small to 2,900

1958 1958

0 to 2,900

1959 and 1960 have no testing, a bilateral moratorium between the USSR and the US, officially beginning 31 Oct 1958. 1961 1961

small to 50,000

The USSR ended its participation in the voluntary testing moratorium on 1 September 1961. K project 1961–1962

1 to 300

1962 1962

small to 24,200

The Soviets executed no tests in 1963. 1964 1964

small to 47

1965 1965

small to 140

1966 1966

1 to 700

1967 1967

small to 260

1968 1968

small to 165

1969 1969

6 to 540

1970 1970

small to 2,200

1971 1971

small to 2,450

1972 1972

small to 1,120

1973 1973

small to 4,000

1974 1974

small to 2,300

1975 1975

small to 1,300

1976 1976

small to 130

1977 1977

small to 120

1978 1978

small to 180

1979 1979

small to 150

1980 1980

small to 200

1981 1981

small to 150

1982 1982

2 to 145

1983 1983

0 to 150

1984 1984

1 to 150

1985 1985

1 to 114

There was no Soviet testing in 1986. 1987 1987

0 to 150

1988 1988

small to 150

1989 1989

4 to 118

1990 1990

0 to 70

The USSR announced Soviet ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, and ended testing on 24 October 1990. Totals 1949-Aug-29 to 1991-May-01 727 981 248 156 229 0 to 50,000 296,837 Total country yield is 54.9% of all nuclear testing.

See also List of nuclear weapons tests

References

Sources