The US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki heralded a new world age, and a new Cold War. To Joseph Stalin, developing his own atomic weapons would be central to securing the Soviet Union's great power status. But Soviet scientists were behind. The German invasion had ravaged the nation and resources were lacking. Stalin now ordered a breakneck project to build a bomb and match the destructive power of the United States. But as the Soviet atomic program rapidly grew, fractures were developing that would have long term consequences.