1950s-1960s: Moscow Nuclear Accident

What if, at any Victory Parade during the 1950s or 1960s when the Soviets are parading their missiles, the missiles are sabotaged and detonate during the parade?
 
What if, at any Victory Parade during the 1950s or 1960s when the Soviets are parading their missiles, the missiles are sabotaged and detonate during the parade?

Can you think of a plausible reason why this would happen? For example, who it is that has both an access to the missiles and the expertise needed for the sabotage? What is the motivation?
 

RousseauX

Donor
What if, at any Victory Parade during the 1950s or 1960s when the Soviets are parading their missiles, the missiles are sabotaged and detonate during the parade?

I don't think missiles on parades actually carried warheads
 
Can you think of a plausible reason why this would happen? For example, who it is that has both an access to the missiles and the expertise needed for the sabotage? What is the motivation?
One Soviet scientist that came to mind was Andrei Sakharov. He started developing ideas contrary to that of Soviet leadership. Motivation: Possibly a chance to escape? From a broader perspective, I'd say German or Jewish scientists embittered towards Communism, religious persecution, and/or forced labor. The broader motivation: Revenge or Escape. If a whole group of nuclear scientists are conspiring, have them replace the dummies with missiles carrying warheads.
 
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One Soviet scientist that came to mind was Andrei Sakharov. He started developing ideas contrary to that of Soviet leadership. Motivation: Possibly a chance to escape? From a broader perspective, I'd say German or Jewish scientists embittered towards Communism, religious persecution, and/or forced labor. The broader motivation: Revenge or Escape.

:eek:
Actually I can believe he could do it if he come to the idea somehow. After all he did propose to mine US coast with powerful nukes which was rejected by military on humanitarian grounds :)

I see a few possibilities here: a dissatisfied and utterly ruthless scientist as proposed. Of course he would not be allowed near actual missile outside testing grounds he would need assistance. Which may come from some anti-communist and non-russian nationalistic conspiracy with support in the upper military. Or alternatively maoist China who in 1960-s starting to be in very bad terms with USSR. It could get help from covert stalinist in Russia who was against all Khruschev done (including missile focus incidently).
And of course it could be a total accident - a chain of unlikely coincidences and f--k ups.

Anyways, a collapse of USSR as the state would be virtually beheaded as most Politburo and Army high Staff usually attend parades and also Moscow would be severely damaged with most state buildings destroyed including Kremlin, Soviet of Ministers and KGB not to mention other infrastructure. It may trigger chinese invasion perhaps in a form of "help" especially if they are involved in the incident.
 
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One Soviet scientist that came to mind was Andrei Sakharov. He started developing ideas contrary to that of Soviet leadership. Motivation: Possibly a chance to escape? From a broader perspective, I'd say German or Jewish scientists embittered towards Communism, religious persecution, and/or forced labor. The broader motivation: Revenge or Escape. If a whole group of nuclear scientists are conspiring, have them replace the dummies with missiles carrying warheads.

Well, I think that deliberately causing a nuclear explosion in the centre of Moscow, one that would necessarily cause tens if not hundreds of thousands of casualties at the very least is something one does not do lightly. So mere opposition to Soviet leadership or being embittered would not IMHO cut it, not if one is not an actual mass-murdering psychopath.

For reasons of escape or revenge, etc, a well-timed and executed conventional explosion would seem a lot more plausible. Fill a dummy missile or two with high explosives and shrapnel and remotely detonate it in front of the Soviet leadership's stand. This would satisfy all your points above, the conventional explosives would be seriously easier to obtain and handle, and there would be the obvious benefit of not having to live with thousands upon thousands of collateral victims on one's conscience.
 
What if, at any Victory Parade during the 1950s or 1960s when the Soviets are parading their missiles, the missiles are sabotaged and detonate during the parade?

I'm confused. You're proposing that the missiles are sabotaged, yet the thread title says "Moscow Nuclear Accident", which is mutually exclusive with sabotage.
 
Have the Soviets unveil a nuclear bomber like our NB-36. During its flyby over Red Square it turns into a lawn dart. Nuclear reactor pieces and contaminant every where. That's the only way a nuclear accident happens there unless they roll out nuke subs on wheels for the parade.:)
 
dirty explosion

IF (and it's a very big, and, IMVHO, implausible if) thre was a nuclear missile at the parade for whatever reason, a dirty explosion with low order, or more likely no, nuclear detonation is much more likely. Plutonium all over the place, possible pulverized if the shaped charges go off at all, and a massive mess with red square badly contaminated. (If there's more than one missile, possibly others get caught in the fire...)

This could be more interesting than another OOPS! a nuclear bomb went off scenario.

As for why a genuine nuke would be there--perhaps some high level Soviet said, "I don't care if they look the same, I want to see the real thing parade through Red Square."
 
I'm confused. You're proposing that the missiles are sabotaged, yet the thread title says "Moscow Nuclear Accident", which is mutually exclusive with sabotage.
I apologize for my phrasing. I forgot to mention that the rest of the world would probably interpret any explosion as an accident, not knowing it was truly sabotaged.
 
It's pretty impossible though for a nuclear device to go off by accident especially in a standard parade style situation. If all the missile trucks collided with each other and then the aircraft flying over head nose-dived into the pile then maybe, but a random detonation whilst just driving through Red Square would be figured as sabotage/terrorism very quickly.
 

CalBear

Moderator
Donor
Monthly Donor
The missiles were just the lifting vehicles, they were neither armed nor fueled (at the time ALL Soviet long range weapons were liquid fueled). The warheads were under the control of the KGB and missiles under the Strategic Rocket Forces. Subverting either of them, much less both simultaneously, would be impossible outside of a James Bond movie or ASB intervention.

All a plotter would have to blow up is an aluminum tube and the prime mover. Even then they would need to get past at least three different level of paranoid security (KGB/GRU/SRF) along with the normal Army and Militia security.

Flat not going to happen.
 
Flat not going to happen.

As I understand it the Red Square parades were THE showpiece events of the USSR. Somebody messing with them would be like managing to shoot the US president during a state of the union address or delivering a wedgie mid-inauguration. Its perhaps not violating-laws-of-physics impossible but pretty damn close.
 
As I understand it the Red Square parades were THE showpiece events of the USSR. Somebody messing with them would be like managing to shoot the US president during a state of the union address or delivering a wedgie mid-inauguration. Its perhaps not violating-laws-of-physics impossible but pretty damn close.

Yes, but THERE'S NO F***ING NUKE IN THE F***ING MISSILE.
 
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