Transcript of Totsky test site and victims of the secret atomic experiment of 1954 | KGB case

among 1,000 declassified KGB files transferred to the state archive in the 90s 1 folder stood out as being especially thin grey with faded red neck top secret and with a strange pencil mark snowball psychotropic effect inside are 23 black and white photographs of soldiers with empty with unseeing eyes and a stack of medical records with the same diagnosis atomic numbness syndrome the date on all documents is September 1950, year four location of examinations Totsk military training ground what kind of experiment was hidden under the code name snowball and why out of all the documents The famous atomic exercises were classified medical reports specifically My name is Mikhail Alekseevich Voronin I am a candidate of historical sciences I specialize in the military history of the USSR I have been studying declassified archives for 20 years but I've never seen anything like this before the folder came to me by accident the archivist mixed up the files issuing materials about the Battle of Berlin instead of the requested ones completely different documents when I pointed out the error The young employee turned pale and quickly took the folder back but it was too late I have already managed to photograph several pages the official history of the Tot teachings is well known September 14, 1950 fourth year at a military training ground in the Orenburg region The Soviet Union held the first and only in history military exercises with the actual use of nuclear weapons under the leadership of Marshal Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov 45,000 military personnel practiced tactics for breaking through the enemy's fortified defenses under conditions of nuclear attack RDS 2 bomb with power 40 kilotons were dropped from a Tupolev 4 aircraft at an altitude of 350m over a hypothetical enemy city 40 minutes after the explosion, Soviet troops went on the attack through the contaminated territory Overcoming radioactive contamination and consequences light radiation the exercises were successful all tasks completed there were no casualties among personnel she's like, well, if everything was so good For what medical records had to be kept secret for 70 years Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov in 1950 was in the fourth year at the height of glory Marshal of Victory four times Hero of the Soviet Union Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR After Stalin's death in 1953, his influence only increased exactly Zhukov arrested Beria and ensured Khrushchev's rise to power but the marshal had a difficult character bossy Many of his contemporaries noted his tendency to be tough sometimes cruel decisions in the name of military necessity The Totsk training ground was not chosen by chance located in the Orenburg steppes away from big cities it resembled the European plains potential theater of a future war with NATO Here, with 47, they tested conventional ammunition were practicing new tactics Local residents have long been accustomed to it to the roar of explosions and the iron clank of tracks but preparation for atomic torture started long before September already in the spring of 50 fourth year unusual cargo began to arrive at the landfill lead containers strange devices field laboratories military personnel to participate in the exercises were selected especially carefully the demands were strict age from 20 to 30 years excellent health high levels of physical fitness and what is especially strange absence of mentally ill persons in the family Colonel of Medical Service Ivan Petrovich Kuznetsov in charge of medical support for the exercise later recalled we were given clear instructions select only mentally stable fighters conducted special tests they checked the stress response they said that this is necessary for safety under conditions of an atomic explosion but some of the requirements turned out to be strange what were these strange demands The surviving medical records of the participants contain notes about psychological compatibility with extreme impacts and the ability to follow orders in an altered state I have never encountered such terminology in any other military medical document of that era for a month arrived at the training ground before the exercise group of civilian specialists officially they were listed scientific consultants on radiation protection issues but the locals remembered them differently tall, thin men in identical grey suits with pale faces and strange stares They did not communicate with the military and lived in a separate town. behind barbed wire Sergeant Vasily Mikhailovich Petrov from the 123rd rifle regiment told his comrades after demobilization These civilians came to our location at night watched us sleep they wrote something down in notebooks and I saw it once how they gave some injections to sleeping soldiers questions were answered medical prophylaxis before atomic exposure but the strangest thing started a week before the exercises participants began to complain about unusual dreams bright colorful but some are wrong they dreamed of villages and girls that were not their native land and metal corridors faces in gas masks explosions and fire many woke up with a headache and a strange taste in the mouth We thought it was from nervous tension recalled Sergeant Alexey Ivanovich Morozov The first time I took part in nuclear exercises it was scary. but everyone had similar dreams as if on order and another strange thing After such dreams during the day we felt somehow detached as if everything was not happening to us and with someone else There is a mention of a special in archival documents psychological preparation participants of the exercises it was conducted by a certain doctor Semyon Abramovich Lebedev about in which no information could be found his name is found only in connection with the Totsk training ground and after 50 fourth year disappears from all documents Lebedev required daily medical examinations of all participants measured not only blood pressure and pulse but also psycho-emotional stability conducted strange tests with pictures and sounds soldiers had to look at the screen and describe their feelings while strange noises were heard in the headphones Dr. Lebedev said what prepares us for a nuclear strike Corporal Nikolai Stepanovich Gromov said they say the explosion could cause panic and we need to maintain combat readiness but his methods were somehow inhuman After his sessions, many of his comrades became silent as if something inside was turning off The night procedures were especially mysterious Every night Lebedev and his assistants walked around the barracks he selected 5-6 people and took them to the medical center In the morning these soldiers returned pale with red dots on his arms from injections the questions were answered unambiguously Vitamins for radiation protection and Private Pyotr Andreevich Sokolov who managed to wake up during 1 such procedure he later told a completely different story Lebedev injected something into our veins and then turned on the strange device an iron box with light bulbs the lights were blinking and a high, nasty sound came from the box we lay and looked at these light bulbs and something was changing in my head what kind of device was that in Sokolov's descriptions it resembles a primitive stroboscope device for creating light flashes but in 1950-4 such technology was extremely rare was used only in scientific laboratories Why did military doctors need it? an incident occurred 3 days before the exercises which almost ruined the whole operation Private Ivan Sidrovich Kravtsov from the 2nd company attempted to desert he was caught at the checkpoint when he tried to climb over the fence During interrogation, Kravtsov told a strange story I had a dream as if I had already participated in these exercises saw a mushroom explosion radiation and the most terrible thing I saw how we go on the attack and the comrades fall one after another but we don't stop, we move on as if someone is forcing us and I realized this is not a dream and a warning I wanted to run away before it was too late Kravtsov was declared mentally unstable and were expelled from the exercise but his words alarmed the command Colonel Kuznetsov wrote in his diary the case with kravtsov showed the danger of our experiment if the soldiers begin to resist the suggestion the whole operation will fail the experiment what experiment Officially, military exercises were held at the Totsk training ground and not experiments but in the documents found this word occurs constantly progress of the experiment results of the experiment participants of the experiment it creates the impression that the atomic explosion was only part of a larger project on the eve of the exercise on September 13th All participants were gathered for a ceremonial meeting Marshal Zhukov himself spoke he spoke about the importance of the task about the defense of the homeland about new weapons that will change the course of future wars but many soldiers did not remember his words and a strange state in which they were located we listened to the marshal but as if from the side recalled Sergeant Major Petrov understood the words but did not feel emotions no fear, no inspiration, nothing as if something human inside us was turned off and it wasn't just me looked at his comrades everyone has the same empty faces after the rally participants were distributed among units and given special equipment in addition to normal protective clothing everyone received a strange metal bracelet with an inscription don't take off the bracelets were heavy with a small window in which something was flashing green we were told that these are dosimeters Corporal Gromov said they say they will show the radiation level but they didn't look like devices and what about handcuffs and another strange thing if you tried to take off the bracelet my head started to spin told on September 13th on the last night before the explosion There was an unusual silence at the training ground the soldiers slept soundly without dreams The officers on duty noted a complete lack of the usual pre-battle excitement people were preparing to meet the atomic explosion with astonishing calm, but this calm was unnatural like 45,000 people took a strong sedative at the same time Part 2: Preparation of the experiment The Totsk test site was chosen in March 1950, the fourth year but the selection criteria were kept a closely guarded secret The management officially explained the decision geographical features flat steppe sparse population similarity to the European plains where the future war with NATO was supposed to take place But declassified documents reveal completely different reasons in a folder marked "special importance" a note from the Deputy Minister of Defense, Marshal, has been preserved Vasilevsky peligon must provide complete isolation participants of the experiment from external influences the possibility of long-term observation of experimental subjects is necessary without risk of information leakage the local population is minimally loyal experimental subjects this word sounded more than strange in military documents soldiers the Red Army suddenly became objects of study not such preparation began with the creation a special commission headed by Lieutenant General Pokrovsky, its composition included not only military personnel but also representatives of closed research institutes among them is a doctor of biological sciences Lev Alexandrovich Orbeli from the Institute of Evolutionary Physiology Professor Nikolai Vasilyevich Timofeev Risovsky from the Institute of Biophysics and the mysterious Semyon Abramovich Lebedev whose place of work is indicated in the documents as laboratory 7 laboratory 7 what was that in the archives of the Ministry of Defense of such a unit officially did not exist but indirect references are found in documents of other departments apparently it was a secret structure engaged in the study of the impact various factors on the human psyche The selection of participants in the exercises took place in several stages 1st standard medical examination 2nd in-depth psychological testing but the 3rd stage raises the most questions it was carried out by specialists from laboratory 7 using an unknown technique Sergeant Mikhail Petrovich Volkov from the 105th Tank Regiment I remembered that we were called one by one into a separate room there was a strange device standing there a large black box with a screen and headphones sat in front of the screen put on headphones and the doctor turned on the machine different pictures flashed on the screen people's faces explosions fire and silence in the ears then sharp sounds asked what I felt what do i think the device described by Volkovo resembles a primitive polygraph lie detector but in 1950-4 such technology was extremely rare even in the secret services why was it necessary to test soldiers with a lie detector and what exactly was checked in the surviving test reports there are strange notes high suggestibility weak critical thinking suitable for impact resistant to programming it creates the impression that they didn't select the best soldiers and the most susceptible to some influence The reaction to light and sound was checked especially carefully irritants candidates were shown a series of flashes of different frequencies included rhythmic sounds measured brain activity with primitive electroencephalographs those whose brain responded correctly to stimuli enrolled as participants Dr. Lebedev explained that seeks people with a special nervous system Sergeant Major Petrov said abundant The atomic explosion creates powerful light and sound effects soldiers needed which will not lose combat capability but the tests were somehow wrong after them many comrades complained of headaches and strange dreams By May 50, 2004, the selection was completed 45,000 candidates were selected from 120,000 but these were not elite units as could be expected Among those selected were ordinary conscripts many of the remote villages have low levels of education it was strange to see Colonel Kuznetsov recalled who was chosen not the best officers and sergeants and simple guys from the provinces when I asked Lebedev about the selection criteria he replied we don't need smart people and the obedient are obedient why do nuclear exercises need obedient soldiers At the same time as the selection of people, the training ground was being prepared other than conventional military facilities Runway Barracks strange structures were built in the warehouses underground bunkers with thick walls equipped not only radiation protection but also surveillance systems engineer captain Alexey Ivanovich Semenov supervising construction noted in the report at the request of civilian experts Periscopes are installed in the bunkers for visual observation sound recording and film system filming equipment Registration devices are also installed biological parameters at a distance biological parameters at a distance in the 50th year Remote monitoring of vital signs was fantastic Semenov's documents describe exactly this system apparently those same metal bracelets which were given to the participants were not simple dosimeters the construction was carried out in the strictest secrecy construction workers Every day they were delivered to the landfill and taken back not allowing overnight stays on the property All drawings and diagrams were kept in special safes which only 3 people had access to but the most mysterious structure built separately from all the others a small building a kilometer away from the main facilities surrounded by a high fence with barbed wire Local workers nicknamed it a mental hospital because of the strange sounds coming from there at night we heard some screams coming from that building said former builder Ivan Grigorevich Sidorov or people are shouting either the machines are working and I saw it once how they brought cages with dogs there many cells, about 20 pieces thought for experiments with radiation but the dogs became strange after those experiments they didn't bark, they walked like they were sleepy animal experiments were common practice in preparation for nuclear tests but why was a separate building with enhanced security needed? and what kind of strange behavior is this demonstrated by experimental dogs By June, the first participants in the exercises began to arrive at the training ground they were housed in specially constructed barracks isolated from the outside world contact with relatives was allowed only through censorship the letters were delayed for a week but the most unusual thing is the daily routine in addition to regular military training The soldiers underwent a course of adaptation to extreme conditions These classes were conducted personally by Dr. Lebedev in that very mysterious building behind the fence Private Pyotr Sergeevich Novikov described these activities as follows: they brought us into a large room with white walls they sat us in a row in front of the screen and turned on the film unusual film and some strange pictures flashed strange symbols you had to watch without blinking and if someone looked away got hit on the head what kind of movies are these a list of equipment has been preserved in the archives delivered to a special purpose building film projector ukraine screen size 3 by 4m light pulse generator tape recorder Dnepr 2 and a strange device called a stroboscope experimental stroboscope in 50 fourth year was the most important device used only in scientific laboratories for studying fast moving objects but the application stroboscope for influencing the human brain This is already from the field of experimental psychology after watching these movies many comrades felt unwell Novikov continued my head was spinning I felt sick and some people started saying strange things repeated the same phrases as if they had been memorized when asked where do these words come from they didn't remember what phrases did the soldiers learn the same expressions are found in the witnesses' testimonies I will carry out any order fear is weakness death for family highest honor common army slogans but they were pronounced in some kind of mechanical tone besides quinceaneras soldiers had individual sessions with Dr. Lebetev officially it was called psychological preparation for stressful situations but the participants described something completely different Corporal Nikolai Stepanovich Gromov Lebedev recalled laid on the couch turned on the lamp very bright light shining right into my eyes then he started speaking monotonously quiet 1 and the same words I listened first then it was as if I fell into a deep sleep and woke up already in the barracks I don't remember how I got there such methods are reminiscent of classical hypnosis or attempts at suggestion but why did military doctors need to hypnotize soldiers and what exactly were they taught By July the first results of the preparation began to appear the participants in the exercises became strangely calm the usual complaints of fighting in the army disappeared obediently unauthorized absences The soldiers followed orders without question showed no emotion the guys have changed noted the company commander, Captain Morozov were alive before noisy as young people should be and after the start of preparation they became somehow correct too correct you say they do do not argue do not discuss and there is emptiness in the eyes some This emptiness in the eyes is mentioned in many testimonies as if the soldier had pulled out something human leaving only obedient bodies which a commission from Moscow arrived at the test site in August led by General Pokrovsky checked the participants' readiness for the exercises but the test was unusual The soldiers were given various tasks and their reactions were observed we were ordered to march to the music Sergeant Major Petrov said but the music was strange not marches but some kind of monotonous melody with a repeating rhythm and we marched like robots in perfect synchronicity The general looked and smiled the commission was satisfied with the results in the end you got the report and that was it participants of the experiment demonstrated a high degree of controllability and readiness to perform tasks in extreme conditions response to team stimuli optimal critical thinking is suppressed to a safe level critical thinking is suppressed the purpose of all the training was not to strengthen morale but on the contrary, suppression of ability soldiers to think and make decisions independently 2 weeks before the exercises the intensity of training has increased dramatically sessions with Dr. Lebedev were held daily sometimes 2 times The soldiers spent more and more time in that mysterious building returning from there silent and detached by the end of August the comrades became completely different recalled Private Sokolov we talked little only on business stopped laughing joke, even letters home were written with the same phrases as if someone was dictating and indeed The surviving letters from the participants are striking in their monotony all written in approximately the same handwriting 1 and the same expressions Dear parents I serve honestly, I am preparing for an important task I'll be back home a hero soon but the strangest thing began in the last days before the exercises The participants began to prepare for the final procedure what was that procedure in not specified in documents but witnesses describe something similar to a mass hypnosis session all 45,000 people were gathered in a large field powerful spotlights and loudspeakers were installed Dr. Lebedev gave a long speech about the importance of the upcoming missions about readiness to die for the homeland about unquestioning execution of orders he spoke very convincingly Corporal Gromov recalled and strangely all his words seemed correct and important I wanted to carry out any of his orders prove your loyalty and so felt all 45,000 people thought the same After the speech, special music was turned on the same monotonous rhythms what were used in training the soldiers stood motionless listened and gradually entered into a strange state not a dream but not awake either time seemed to stand still Sergeant Major Petrov described his feelings stood and listened to music my thoughts were floating away somewhere then I woke up already in the barracks I don't remember how I got there and that same bracelet appeared on his hand metal heavy poet Bracelets were given to all participants on the last night officially dosimeters for radiation monitoring but the design was suspicious complex for a simple measuring device metal case flashing indicator some wires inside the bracelet was strange Private Novikov said it was heavy uncomfortable and even if you tried to take it off my head started to spin as if it somehow affected my well-being On the morning of September 14th everything was ready 45,000 soldiers in metal bracelets with empty eyes and critical thinking turned off were waiting for a nuclear explosion Part 3 - Day of the Explosion September 14, 1950 fourth year at 5am local time the command to rise was given at the Totsk training ground but this was no ordinary army rally with the shouts of the guards and the clatter of boots 45,000 people rose at once no fuss no talk as if by an invisible signal Sergeant Vasily Mikhailovich Petrov later recalled woke up as if by an alarm clock although I didn't hear anyone I look around, all my comrades are already sitting on their beds, silent Usually in the morning there is a lot of noise in the barracks someone is swearing someone is joking and there is silence like in church breakfast passed in the same unnatural silence the soldiers ate in sync without talking without complaining about the quality of the porridge The officers on duty noted a complete absence of the usual bustle even the youngest conscripts usually nervous before training looked absolutely calm at 7 am All participants were lined up to receive protective equipment Each received a special jumpsuit made of thick fabric gas mask goggles for protection from light radiation and a strange helmet with metal plates Officially, the plates were intended to protect against radiation. but their arrangement was more reminiscent of antennas the helmet was heavy inconvenient, said corporal Nikolai Stepanovich Gromov and another strange thing as soon as I put it on a quiet hum appeared in my ears not loudly but constantly as if something was working inside the helmet Many participants noted the hum in their helmets officially this was explained by acoustic properties protective material but the description of the witnesses more like the work of some electronic device in the 50th year miniature radios were rare but to build a simple sound generator into the helmet was technically possible At 8:30 the participants were divided into positions the bulk of the army was located in the trenches at a distance of 6 km from the point of explosion tank units took up positions 8 km away artillery at 10 but there were also those who were placed much closer 2 companies of machine gunners occupied trenches just 2 km from the epicenter officially they were supposed to be the first to attack after the explosion but the choice of these particular soldiers raises questions all up to 1 have completed a full training course with Dr. Lebedev Private Pyotr Andreevich Sokolov from the 1st company recalled when they announced it to us that we will be the closest to the explosion no one was scared on the contrary, everyone was happy It's strange because we understood this that the atomic bomb is dangerous but there was no fear just the desire to complete the task lack of fear of nuclear weapons is not courage and a symptom normal human reaction to mortal danger this is fear, its absence speaks either of ignorance of the threat or about the suppression of natural instincts At 9 am the carrier aircraft arrived at the testing ground strategic bomber Tupolev 4 under the command of Colonel Fedorov The RDS 2 bomb was suspended in the bomb bay power 40 kilotons which was 3 times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima Crew commander Colonel Viktor Alekseevich Fedorov left a detailed recollection of the flight the bomb hung like a normal munition but everyone understood that this was a completely different weapon When they received the command to take off, the crew was calm strangely calm for such a task at 9:20 the plane took off the weather was perfect clear sky light wind visibility is excellent all observation posts reported readiness Camera operators took up positions before the surveyors turned on the devices but the most important observation was carried out from a secret bunker where Dr. Lebedev and his assistants were accommodated they were not monitoring the progress of the explosion and for the behavior of participants In front of each observer there was a device with many arrows apparently the monitoring system of those same bracelets At 9:34 Colonel Fedorov reported target in sight altitude 10,000m I'm going on a combat course a minute later the command was given the bomb has been dropped 40 kilotons the charge dropped for 43 seconds during this time 45,000 people prepared to meet the atomic explosion but their behavior in those crucial seconds was extremely unusual everyone looked at the sky and waited Sergeant Major Petrov said but not like ordinary people without worry without fear It was like watching a movie in a cinema and the strangest thing many began to count out loud times 2 3 nobody taught us to count but everyone thought the same synchronous report of 45,000 people This is impossible without prior preparation. it turns out that the soldiers knew the exact time of the explosion in advance or they were taught to sense the moment of detonation At 9:35 and 17 seconds the bomb exploded at an altitude of 350 m over a hypothetical enemy city a flash of light illuminated the steppe brighter than the sun the shock wave rolled across the ground at the speed of sound the temperature at the epicenter reached several 1,000,000 degrees but the reaction of the participants was amazing instead of natural horror or panic complete peace of mind soldiers watched the fire mushroom like a regular fireworks display the explosion was beautiful Corporal Gromov recalled first a bright flash then the fireball rises into the sky It got hot but not scary On the contrary, it was interesting to watch and all the comrades also watched calmly the shock wave reached the nearest trenches 18 seconds after the explosion but here too the soldiers behaved in an unconventional manner Usually people instinctively duck cover their faces with their hands Participants of the Totsk exercises remained standing watching the approaching wave I saw the wave coming the sand rises bends the bushes Private Sokolov said, I understood that they will hit now but I didn't want to move as if someone ordered to stand and watch the wave covered threw into the trench but it didn't hurt absence of pain under strong physical impact still 1 alarming symptom or the soldiers were given strong painkillers or their pain sensitivity was artificially suppressed 40 minutes after the explosion the command to attack was given according to the training plan the troops had to cross the contaminated territory and capture a conventional object at the epicenter of the explosion it was an extremely dangerous task the radiation level in the explosion zone exceeded permissible limits hundreds of times, but the participants went into the attack with enthusiasm without fear without doubt without trying to avoid danger 45,000 people simultaneously rose from the trenches and moved towards the epicenter atomic explosion the command sounded and everyone stood up as one recalled Sergeant Major Petrov no one argued I had no doubt went through the radioactive zone as if it were a normal teaching and strangely they didn't feel any radiation although the dosimeters were off the scale visit dasymeters actually showed lethal levels of radiation but the soldiers ignored the instrument readings Moreover, many took off their protective masks and glasses, I complain what prevents you from seeing cinematographer Vladimir Sergeevich Morozov filming the attack from a safe distance noted in the report the soldiers moved strictly in a straight line ignoring obstacles fallen trees explosion craters burning grass We overcame everything without stopping it looked inhuman inhuman precise definitions People in extreme situations usually show emotions looking for shelter helping the wounded The attackers behaved like programmed robots the synchronous movement looked especially strange 45,000 people walked at 1 pace turned stopped simultaneously by an invisible signal this is impossible without long training or external control we walked and knew Private Novikov told me where to go no one explained the route didn't show the cards but everyone was moving in the right direction as if there was a compass inside my head compass in the head or something more complicated those same bracelets with flashing indicators are quite could serve as a navigation system and helmets with metal plates receive control signals An hour later the attackers reached the epicenter of the explosion Here the radiation background was maximum critical soil temperature normal people in such a zone would lose consciousness in minutes but the participants in the exercises calmly carried out the assigned tasks or it was hot in the center as Corporal Gromov recalled in the bathhouse the earth was smoking the air was shaking but we did that what was necessary to take positions installed flags worked quickly and accurately without unnecessary movements Placing flags at the epicenter of the atomic explosion this is not a military task a demonstration proof of that that soviet soldiers capable of operating even in conditions of nuclear war but such resilience seemed unnatural The most alarming thing began after the end of the exercises Participants had to undergo sanitization wash away radioactive dust change clothes get medical help but many soldiers did not remember how did you get to the processing point the last thing I remember stood in the center of the explosion they were setting up a flag Private Sokolov said then a memory lapse I woke up already in the medical center lying on a bed I ask the orderly how did i get here and he answers He came himself but looked strange More than half of the participants reported memory lapses they remembered the beginning of the attack they remembered the epicenter but didn't remember the way back as if at a certain moment their consciousness switched off and the bodies continued to act automatically Medical examinations after exercises also raise questions Usually after such irradiation people radiation sickness develops nausea vomiting weakness and participants The Totsk teachings felt surprisingly good the doctors were surprised Sergeant Major Petrov recalled they said that with such doses of radiation there must be serious symptoms and we have nothing the pressure is normal the temperature is normal only they didn't allow me to take off this metal bracelet The bracelets were not officially removed for several more days to continue monitoring radiation exposure but participants noted what exactly these days they finally have the memories of the strange details of the guitarist's teachings have faded I remember everything at first and Dr. Lebedev and the films that were shown and night injections Corporal Gromov said and in a week as the fog descended I only remember the explosion and the attack everything else is vague as if I had dreamed it selective memory loss another sign of artificial influence on consciousness it is precisely those memories that are deleted which could reveal the true nature of the experiment by the end of September Most of the participants were demobilized and sent home but other people returned home Part 4 Hidden Consequences 1st alarm signals were received just a month after the end military commissariats all over the country started receiving strange messages from relatives demobilized participants Totsk teachings of wife mother the fathers complained that their sons and husbands returned home as different people and know Maria Ivanovna Petrova the wife of the elder Vasily Mikhailovich wrote Military registration and enlistment office of Kursk region My husband returned from military exercises but it's not mine Vasya used to be cheerful talkative loved to mess around with children and now he sits silently answers questions in monosyllables at night he screams in his sleep 1 and the same words he accepted and fulfilled I understand that hundreds of similar letters were received everyone described the same symptoms emotional detachment loss of interest in family and work strange recurring dreams mechanical execution of habitual actions Anna Sergeevna Morozova from Tambov region told son Alexei returned as a stranger sits at the table, eats silently, looks at one point, asks what happened during the exercises and he answers everything is fine mom served honestly and not another word he even stopped talking to his fiancée Relatives were particularly worried about the failures in behavior Former participants in the exercises could sit motionless for hours staring into space then they suddenly stood up and started doing some actions march around the room salute invisible superiors report on the execution of non-existent orders Vasily will get up in the middle of the night stands at attention and begins to report Comrade Commander task accomplished there are no losses, recalled Maria Ivanovna Petrova and in the morning he doesn't remember anything wonders why his wife is crying By the end of 1954 the situation became critical military commissariats referred former participants for medical examinations but the results were immediately classified Families were only informed of their health status satisfactory to service Hours however, classified medical reports discovered in archives decades later painted a completely different picture among the participants Totsk exercises were observed unprecedented rise in mental disorders and if you are the chief military psychiatrist of the Moscow district Lieutenant Colonel of the Medical Service Sergei Nikolaevich Blagov wrote in a closed report for the period from October to December 1950 of the fourth year registered 327 cases of seeking psychiatric help among the former participants of Operation Snowball main symptoms depressive states obsessive actions short-term memory loss emotional dullness 327 cases from 45,000 participants this is almost 1% under normal conditions mental disorders among demobilized military personnel did not exceed 0 and 2/10 percent but the most terrible statistics concerned suicides within 1 118 former participants committed suicide after the exercises This was 12 times higher average for the armed forces of the USSR besides third traitor Pyotr Andreevich Sokolov 1 of the few who retained a clear memory of the events at the training ground hanged himself in January 55 The suicide note was found by the wife I can't live with that anymore that saw us all turned into robots Sorry Katya Corporal Nikolai Stepanovich Gromov threw himself under a train in March of that year told his neighbors before he died I dream about Dr. Lebedev every night he looks at me with his scary eyes and says you remember too much I can't take it anymore We have no strength for them attempts trying to figure out what was happening we came up against a dead end silence all documents about the exercises were classified The relatives of the deceased were explained difficulties of adaptation to peaceful life consequences of radiation exposure individual stress intolerance Military doctors were the first to sound the alarm they saw the real picture but they had no right to speak openly Some tried to draw attention to the problem through scientific publications using veiled wording in 1957 in the military medical journal Colonel Blagov's article appeared about the peculiarities of mental reactions of individuals exposed to ionizing radiation the article was written with extreme caution but those in the know understood what are we talking about observed mental changes cannot be explained by radiation exposure alone wrote blagov the nature of the symptoms indicates possible use additional factors effects on the central nervous system The article caused a stir among the military leadership Blagov was summoned to Moscow had a preventive talk and transferred to another position away from the participants of the Totsk exercises all copies of the magazine with his article were removed from libraries but rumors about the strange consequences of the exercises have already spread throughout the country in the 60s during the thaw the first attempts at journalistic investigation appeared Pravda correspondent Vladimir Arkadyevich Sirov began collecting material about the fates of the participants in the Totsk exercises he met with relatives studied medical records tried to find former employees of the landfill the more I learned the more frightening it became Sirov wrote in his diary these were not just military exercises it was a monstrous experiment on people but who would dare to publish such material Sirov didn't dare In August 1962 he was in a car accident officially an accident the driver lost control but witnesses claimed what's in the journalist's car a truck with military license plates crashed into All of Serov's notes and documents disappeared from his apartment even before the funeral relatives were told that they were seized for an official investigation the materials were not returned A similar fate befell the historian Lev Mikhailovich Kozlov who in the 70s tried to study classified military archives he managed to gain access to some documents about Totsk teachings and even wrote a book manuscript unknown page of atomic tests but in 1970 the fourth year Kozlov suddenly fell ill with a rare form of blood cancer Doctors could not explain the cause of the disease the scientist never came into contact with radiation and had no hereditary predisposition the author before death kozlov re-owed sealed envelope if something happens to me burn this and don't tell anyone they know how to do it so that people get sick and die leaving no trace The wife burned the manuscript that same day not all witnesses were silent some participants of the exercise retaining a clear memory tried to tell the truth but their testimony sounded so incredible that society did not take them seriously petty officer Vasily Mikhailovich Petrov in 1968 wrote a letter to the Central Committee of the CPSU I ask you to look into the crimes committed at the Totsk training ground experiments were conducted on Soviet soldiers turned people into robots many of my comrades died or went crazy the answer came a month later your request has been reviewed the facts stated in the letter were not confirmed We recommend that you consult a psychiatrist for an examination. Petrov consulted a psychiatrist diagnosis paranoid personality disorder delusional ideas of persecution a year of forced treatment in a psychiatric hospital After being discharged, Petrov never spoke about the teachings again. it gradually became clear the system works flawlessly any who is trying to reveal the truth about the teachings of Tot declared mentally ill gets into an accident or dies suddenly from a mysterious illness but the most attentive researchers began to notice connections between Operation Snowball and others classified projects of that time the name of doctor Semyon Abramovich Lebedev surfaced in documents about absolutely different programs in 1955 experiments with psychotropic drugs in closed laboratories academy of sciences in 57th development of methods psychological impact on the enemy as part of the psychological warfare program in 60th participation in the creation of the system ideological processing for special units of the KGB sixty gave the impression what laboratory 7 was part a large-scale program of study and control human consciousness The Totsk exercises are only one stage of this program. The information about that was particularly alarming that the methods were tested on the participants of Snezhok were used to train elite military units special forces fighters cosmonauts security guards for top party leaders all of them underwent special psychological training according to Lebedev's methods They created the perfect robot army said one of the former military intelligence officers soldier who lived to remain nameless who will carry out any order without asking questions who knows no fear does not feel pain doesn't remember that that he is not supposed to remember the end In the 70s, the topic of the Totsk teachings was finally closed. the last witnesses died or went silent documents disappeared into secret archives official version heroic military exercises proved the readiness of the Soviet army for nuclear war became the only one permitted but the truth has a way of coming to the surface in the late 80s in the era of glasnost archives began to open gradually and then that very folder with the stamp "snowball" fell into my hands psychotropic effect Part 5: Exposure and Truth the solution came unexpectedly in January 1991 when the USSR was living out its last months Archivist of the State Military Archives Petr Vasilievich Klimov handed me a sealed folder. found in Pokrovsky's safe he said quietly The general died in '78 and the safe was just opened I think you'll find this interesting The folder contained the original documents of Operation Snowball the same ones that have been searched for decades training plans correspondence with Moscow medical reports meeting transcripts and the main thing General Pokrovsky's final report to Khrushchev personally the task is fully completed Pokrovsky wrote the fundamental possibility has been proven conducting offensive operations in conditions of application nuclear weapons the troops are capable overcome contaminated terrain and perform combat missions losses The radiation poisoning rate for personnel was 12% what is considered acceptable 12% losses from radiation This is 5,400 people out of 45,000 participants but in the official reports it was stated there are no losses, where is the truth? the truth turned out to be simpler and more frightening than any conspiracy theories there were no psychotropic weapons no mind control experiments were conducted there was another, darker reality cynical calculation of the military command in a secret note by Marshal Zhukov Minister of Defense it was said directly the coming war in Europe will inevitably be nuclear Americans have a significant advantage in nuclear weapons but our army outnumbers them it is necessary to determine Will we be able to compensate for the technical lag? the mass character and resilience of the personnel The Totsk exercises were a dress rehearsal for the future war Soviet command planned to break through NATO defenses after the nuclear exchange Western Europe was to become a battlefield where 1,000,000 Soviet soldiers will go on the attack through radioactive ruins the marshal knew in my presence that such tactics will lead to monstrous losses but considered them an acceptable price for victory we can afford to lose 10,000,000 soldiers Zhukov said at a closed meeting Americans can't this is our advantage star To implement such a strategy, special soldiers were needed not supermen not robots just people who are capable of going to certain death without hesitation This is exactly what Dr. Lebedev was doing his lab 7 really existed but not as a center for the creation of psychotropic weapons and as a scientific unit for the study of behavior man in extreme conditions Lebedev was a military psychologist specialist in group dynamics and management mass consciousness methods which he used had nothing to do with fantasy those were good well-known techniques of psychological influence rhythmic light and sound stimuli to induce a trance group suggestion pharmacological mood correction the simplest sedatives the goal was extremely pragmatic reduce the level anxiety and improve the controllability of personnel soldiers were not turned into robots they were prepared for death The strange dreams of the participants were explained simply They were given light ones before going to bed sleeping pills with hallucinogenic effect barbituric acid derivatives during slow falling asleep included sound recordings with suggestive formulas I am not afraid of death order above all homeland is more important than life metal bracelets were not control systems and primitive dosimeters with radio transmitters they allowed doctors to work remotely control radiation levels each participant and his location when the radiation dose became critical the bracelet gave a signal looking closely synchronicity of movement and robotic behavior also had a rational explanation months of drill daily training 1 of these same actions suppression of individuality conventional military training methods driven to extremes what about memory lapses and here everything turned out to be simpler After the exercises, all participants were injected with the alkaloid escopolamine causing partial amnesia the memories of the last hours were erased but the main events were saved in skypolamine why was it necessary to erase the memory the answer was found in the chief's secret instructions political administration participants should not remember details medical intervention and psychological preparation this is a military secret disclosure of which is prohibited but the most terrible discovery was waiting in the medical reports the actual losses from radiation turned out to be much higher official data from 45,000 participants 8,000 people suffered serious radiation damage another 16,000 of moderate severity Colonel Kuznetsov wrote in a closed report the radiation level exceeded all permissible limits Most participants develop acute radiation sickness the prognosis is unfavorable within 5 years we should expect a massive mortality from cancer and other radiation diseases the forecast turned out to be accurate by the end of the 50s from radiation sickness and cancer 23,000 died former participants of the exercises more than half of the total number but in official documents These deaths were not associated with radiation poisoning. The reasons given were very different cardiovascular diseases accidental suicides families did not receive any compensation after all, there were no losses mental disorders also had quite natural causes Participants in the exercises experienced extreme stress atomic explosion irradiation awareness of doom Added to this were the side effects drug effects and consequences traumatic brain injury from shock wave strange behavior after demobilization classic symptoms post-traumatic stress disorder emotional dullness repetitive actions memory lapses All this is well known to military psychiatrists The high suicide rate was not due to brainwashing and severe depression young people understood that are doomed to a painful death from cancer many preferred to commit suicide quickly than to die slowly Dr. Lebedev was not a villain from a science fiction movie he was an ordinary military doctor carrying out orders from the command in his diary about what was found after death in 73 there are scary lines I understand that I am participating in a crime but an order is an order if I refuse will find another less qualified at least under my leadership the guys will suffer less were they less affected? It is unlikely that the military bureaucracy machine worked ruthlessly soldiers were expendable to her statistical unit element of calculation why was such a complex closing system needed? why couldn't the truth be admitted that the exercises were conducted to practice nuclear war tactics the answer lay in the political situation of the 50s The Soviet Union officially advocated peaceful coexistence condemned the arms race called for a ban on nuclear weapons recognition of that that the army is preparing for a nuclear war in Europe would have destroyed the entire propaganda campaign in addition, the scale of casualties among the participants of the exercises could cause public outrage Soviet people got used to losses during the war but not in peacetime recognition of that that 23,000 soldiers sacrificed for the sake of a military experiment was politically unacceptable therefore a false reality was created the exercises were declared successful there were no losses The participants are healthy and happy with the service and everyone who tried to tell the truth declared insane or eliminated the system worked perfectly the truth about native teachings was buried for 70 years and perhaps it would remain a secret forever if it weren't for the collapse of the USSR and the opening of the archives of the symposium Today the territory of the former test site is an ordinary steppe in the Orenburg region the radiation background has long since returned to normal the land is used for agriculture nothing reminds of the tragedy of 1950-4 only documents remained in the archives yes, rare graves in rural cemeteries the last refuge of the participants the most terrifying military exercises in human history The monuments are engraved with the usual dates of life no cause of death indicated families still don't know the truth about the fate of their loved ones Operation Snowball was not an experiment in creating psychotropic weapons this was an attempt to answer the question can a person fight in a nuclear apocalypse The answer we received was probably terrible but the price will be monstrous fortunately the hot phase of the Cold War never began there was no nuclear conflict in Europe Soviet divisions did not go on the attack through the radioactive ruins European cities The victims of the Totsk landfill were in vain but it is precisely because of this that humanity survived Today I am studying declassified documents I understand there were no supernatural secrets in the snowball case there was the usual military brutality multiplied by secrecy and indifference to human lives the worst secret turned out to be banal People were just numbers in reports for the state The teachings of Totsk are a history lesson about that what does the arms race and preparation for war lead to lesson about price which ordinary people pay for the ambitions of politicians and military men a lesson on what the worst crimes are are often not committed by villains and ordinary people following orders and let this lesson not be forgotten memory of the victims of operation snowball our reminder of that that the world is fragile and human life is priceless no state interests can justify sacrifice innocent people the history of the Totsk landfill is over the truth is restored but how many more secret folders are there in the archives how many more tragedies are hidden under the top secret label and when humanity finally learn to resolve disputes without bloodshed and casualties each of these questions remains open and the snowball reminds us the truth is always simpler than the most incredible versions but that doesn't make it any less scary