Memorial to the Totsky Nuclear Tests

The memorial at Totsky Range, in Russia's Orenburg Oblast, is a stele with bells that ring in memory of everyone affected by radiation there. It was erected in 1994 at the epicenter of the atomic bomb blast that shook the site on 14 September 1954, during the "Snezhok" ("Snowball") military exercise commanded by Marshal Georgy Zhukov (see the separate article on Totsky Range for more on the exercise itself).

Eyewitness Accounts

About three hours after the blast, the attack signal was given. Troops in gas masks, riding armored personnel carriers, advanced toward the epicenter at 16-18 km/h and got within 600 metres of it; they saw a burned forest, scorched animals, and equipment damaged or melted within 5 km of the epicenter. The next day, commanders from battalion level up were driven to the epicenter itself, where no tree remained standing within 300 metres and nearby trenches showed varying degrees of blast damage; surviving aircraft under white covers were tilted by the shock wave. The following day's debriefing was led by Defense Minister Nikolai Bulganin, and Marshal Georgy Zhukov praised the troops' performance.

Radiation and Its Aftermath

According to data from the early 1990s, radiation exposure extended beyond Totsky District itself to seven more districts of Orenburg Oblast, which sources say was accompanied by a rise in cancer cases among local residents; the exact figures are disputed and are discussed in more detail in the article on Totsky Range.

Commemorations

On 14 September 2004, the 50th anniversary of the exercise, a memorial gathering was held at the site; at the time, 378 direct participants of the exercise were still living in Orenburg Oblast.

Location

The memorial stands at the blast's epicenter on the grounds of Totsky Range, in the Totsky District of Orenburg Oblast, 40 km north of the village of Totskoye and about 200 km west of Orenburg; the nearest large city is Buzuluk, 50 km away.