Scientific director of the USSR's second nuclear weapons design centre
"The best way to avoid a problem is to ask your superior for permission. Nine times out of ten you'll get a 'no.' So if you really want to solve it, decide yourself and then report. It's rarely overturned."
A key designer in Soviet nuclear weapons physics, he served as scientific director of the second nuclear weapons design centre (VNIITF, Chelyabinsk-70) from 1960 until his death. His 1947 dissertation on converging shock waves brought him into the atomic bomb project; he contributed to the first Soviet nuclear test (RDS-1) and provided the theoretical basis for the first fully original Soviet charge (RDS-2). In 1955 he moved to the newly created Ural centre as head of theory, leading development of the first weaponized thermonuclear charge adopted by the Soviet Army in 1957. Over 25 years VNIITF under his leadership designed the majority of Soviet nuclear warheads. He pioneered peaceful nuclear explosion technologies and in his final years received the Keldysh Gold Medal for his work on unlimited cumulation.
Activities and affiliations
Career Timeline
- 1948–1955Theoretical physicist, KB-11 (Arzamas-16)
- 1955–1960Deputy scientific director & head of theory, NII-1011
- 1960–1984Scientific director, VNIITF (Chelyabinsk-70)
- 1968–1984Full member, USSR Academy of Sciences
Related historical events
Peaceful nuclear explosions and their applications
From the 1960s, alongside weapons development, Zababakhin promoted at VNIITF a conversion program researching civilian applications of nuclear explosions. He oversaw the development and optimization of specialized nuclear charges for vented explosions, which eject material to the surface, and contained underground explosions. Researchers applied them to seismic sounding of the Earth's crust, sealing runaway gas wells, increasing oil production, creating underground storage cavities and breaking up ore. The team also used nuclear explosive devices for fundamental research into matter and processes under extreme conditions that could not be reproduced in laboratory experiments. Under Zababakhin's scientific direction, the program connected the design and detonation of nuclear charges with industrial and scientific purposes, while remaining a plan to convert military nuclear technology to civilian uses. The Soviet peaceful nuclear explosion program as a whole carried out 122 explosions from 1965 to 1988, using 128 nuclear explosives. More than half were used to create underground salt cavities for storing gas condensate and for deep seismic sounding of the Earth's crust and upper mantle. That national scale should be distinguished from Zababakhin's personal sphere of direct responsibility.