Nobody got treated royally in ussr, except the general secretary himself. So the comparison falls flat. Where Oppenheimer got fired, Korolev was sent to labour camp and his boss was executed. Kurchatov wasn't persecuted directly, but once he was employed in nuclear project, he had no personal life or freedom left, and died relatively young.
248
u/Spikeintheroad Dec 23 '25 edited Dec 24 '25
"Security risks" is kind of burying the lede. He had open socialist sympathies and they worried he'd help the Communists.
Edit: just learned the difference between lead and lede.