Russian nuclear industry celebrates 80th anniversary
In 2025, Russia's nuclear industry is celebrating its 80th anniversary. On 20 August 1945, Russia established a Special Committee on Atomic Energy. In response to the threat posed by the United States, the country created nuclear weapons within four years (the RDS-1 bomb was successfully tested in 1949).
This led to the USSR becoming a pioneer and leader in the peaceful use of nuclear energy. Russian specialists built the first nuclear power plant in Obninsk in 1954, and the first nuclear icebreaker, Lenin, was launched in 1959 to aid in Arctic exploration.
The main theme of the anniversary: pride, inspiration, and dreams. The industry founders’ feats have been a source of pride for nuclear scientists, who are inspired by the achievements of previous generations. They also plan to push forward and expand the possibilities. The 80th anniversary is being celebrated with various events, including the main ones, which are the performance in Nizhny Novgorod and the World Atomic Week international forum that will be held in Moscow from 25 to 28 November.
Today, 20 August, the city of Nizhny Novgorod is hosting the "Era of Dreamers" gala event to celebrate the anniversary. The large-scale concert featuring elements of a theatrical performance, directed by Igor Krutoy, will take place at the city's main stadium and is expected to attract approximately 30,000 spectators, including 20,000 employees of Rosatom companies. The concert will feature celebrity artists. Soloists from the Bolshoi Theater will perform the music piece "Era of Dreamers".
From 21 August, the scientific and art exhibition "Atom. Future" will be on display at Nizhny Novgorod’s cultural center. The exhibition is inspired by future technologies that nuclear science and industry provide for humanity. "Atom. Future" is the fruit of joint efforts by young artists, scientists, architects, and multimedia specialists. Along with art objects, paintings, posters, and multimedia installations, visitors will have the opportunity to see large-scale mock-ups of objects of the future, such as nuclear icebreakers, power units, and space rockets. The exhibition will also present modern high-tech devices such as a bioprinter, a spacesuit for the Mars mission, as well as existing technologies that make that future possible.
The World Atomic Week International Forum will feature an exhibition of the achievements of Rosatom and its partners, as well as a scientific and educational marathon organized by the All-Russian Society "Znaniye". The exhibition is expected to attract leaders, government officials, representatives of large companies, and scientists and businessmen from several countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
In addition, numerous concerts dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the nuclear industry are being held in "nuclear" cities. As part of the "Rosatom Culture Territory" program, the concerts feature performances by famous Russian musicians as well as by talented performers from "nuclear cities" who won an online music and dance competition that took place from November 2024 to January 2025. The concerts are being held in all "nuclear” cities.
