Скачать или смотреть Inside a Secret Soviet Nuclear City Weeks Before Disaster | Tomsk-7 Rare Footage (1993)

In 1991 the signing of the historic START Treaty kickstarted the process of sustained arms reduction between East and West. However, as the Iron Curtain fell and the problems of the declining Soviet state became increasingly apparent, Tomsk-7 alongside nine other secret Soviet cities were reluctantly outed, their extensive problems in tow. Tomsk-7 was established as a secret facility in 1953, not appearing on maps due to its essential role in the Soviet nuclear weapons. ITN would be the first western camera crews allowed into the city, covering the extensive poisoning of local populations and the detrimental effect on staff at the plant, who were also enduring the collapse of state infrastructure and support at the end of the arms race.

A little over a month after these reports were filmed, Tomsk-7 would suffer a major radiological disaster when, during a routine procedure, a mixture of nitric acid, uranium and plutonium overheated. The resultant explosion and fire would release 250 cubic metres of radioactive gas, 8.7 kilograms of uranium and 500 grams of plutonium into the environment. An area of 1,500 square metres around the plant was severely contaminated, while the radioactive plume covered a total area of 120 square kilometres.

#coldwar #militaryhistory #coldwarhistory #nuclear #nuclearwar #nuclearwar #nuclearweapons #nuclearfacilities #russia #russianhistory #russiaukrainewar #communism #siberia #chernobyl #sovietunion #ussr #gorbachev #georgebush #armsrace #tomsk #1993 #plutonium #uranium #powerplant #1953 #stalin #ironcurtain

To search the ITN Archive collection on Getty Images, follow the link below:

https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/footage...

🎥 Subscribe to our YouTube channel (tap the bell icon and stay up to date with all the latest ITN Archive videos!) -    / @itnarchive  
🎥 Follow us on Twitter -   / itnarchive  
🎥 Like us on Facebook -   / itnarchiveitnp  
🎥 Check out our TikTok -   / itnarchive1955