THE BOTULINUM BOMB. THE PROBLEM OF ANTI-BACTERIOLOGICAL DEFENSE IN THE EARLY POST-WAR USSR

World War II launched large-scale programs across various countries to create new types of weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear and biological (bacteriological) weapons. In the conditions of the Cold War, unfolding in the second half of the 1940s, the Soviet Union responded to these threats by strengthening its defense capabilities and creating protective measures. This article is based on documents of the collection (fond) “Special Committee under the Council of Ministers of the USSR” from GARF. These documents shed light on the USSR’s efforts to counter the bacteriological threat (associated with botulinum toxin) after World War II. This story allows touching upon several important topics. Firstly, it is part of a broader process of formation a unified system of anti-nuclear, anti-chemical and anti-biological defense that began in the second half of the 1940s. It is shown that this problem was affiliated with the atomic project. Secondly, the issue of biological weapons and defense against them from in a historical perspective illustrates how the country dealt with biological threats in the past. This is an important example of the Soviet military-industrial complex experience in creating technologies based on its own scientific and technical capabilities. This case shows that not only high-ranking government officials but also military and civilian scientists were concerned about the need for antibacterial protection. The USSR’s military-biological investigations during the period under review were intensified by external threats and were catching up. The task of providing antibotulinum protection, set in the late 1940s, was successfully solved.