Soviet Union gets nuclear bomb first

Is it possible? Soviet Union gets the nuclear bomb first instead of the USA. Would definitely change the tempo of the Cold War, especially since we may be the weaker partner this time around.
 
It's certainly possible, but a WW2 would pretty much need to be averted, or the US at least stays neutral.
 
There's no way for the Soviet Union to have superior scientists? Or rather just be ahead research wise? Granted, yeah, US will need to be unable to research for some reason.
 
There's no way for the Soviet Union to have superior scientists? Or rather just be ahead research wise? Granted, yeah, US will need to be unable to research for some reason.

The Soviets had excellent scientists, that's not the issue, the problem is the resources needed. The Manhattan Project cost 2 Billion dollars, and although it could have been done cheaper than that arguably, the Soviets won't when their focusing everything on the conventional war with the Germans.
 
OH! That explains a lot. Okay, yeah... Soviet Union needs a calmer Europe. Hmm, well, get a Communist Germany, and you're set. Germany really determines so much.
 
Also, Stalin trusted his scientists less than his spies, and as a result, any time developments in Soviet research contradicted the spy reports coming in from Oak Ridge and Los Alamos, Stalin would order his scientists to ditch their data/methodology/designs and use the American ones instead. That sort of limited how fast the Soviet team could work.
 
Also, Stalin trusted his scientists less than his spies, and as a result, any time developments in Soviet research contradicted the spy reports coming in from Oak Ridge and Los Alamos, Stalin would order his scientists to ditch their data/methodology/designs and use the American ones instead. That sort of limited how fast the Soviet team could work.

Indeed, there's a good argument that they could have got the bomb quicker if they hadn't had to copy Fuchs' Fat Man.
 

HMS Erin

Banned
You don't even have to butterfly WWII completely, the Nazis could have lost pretty much as early as you want, leaving the Soviets the resources to win the race to the bomb first.
 
Indeed, there's a good argument that they could have got the bomb quicker if they hadn't had to copy Fuchs' Fat Man.

IIRC, the Soviets' independently developed design was more efficient than the American Fat Man, too, but Stalin shot it down because he wanted a 100% guarantee that the first test would be a success (and the Fat Man design was already proven to work).
 
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