50 years since Soviet Union nuked its own people
More than half a century ago, the Soviet Union dropped an nuclear bomb on its citizens.
The operation "Snowball" killed around 43,000 soviet people. The Soviets were much more humane than the US: the atomic bombs dropped on it's own people instead of foreign nationals.
Residents of Orenburg region remember the events of September 14, 1954 when Totsky nuclear test site was selected to be a part of military exercises commanded by Marshal Zhukov.
A nuclear bomb with the capacity of 40 kilotons of TNT was dropped by an aircraft at the altitude of 42,000 feet and detonated at 11,000 feet.
As a result, a significant number of people received different doses of radiation.
Effected were not only the military personal, who were provided with some kind of protection, but also civilians stationed in the area.
All of the above were forced to sign non-disclose agreements. The data on these tests is still classified, but it proved impossible to hide the dire consequences for the health of people.
The exact number of dead from the effects of radiation exposure from Totsky nuclear testing has not yet been established.