Head of the Rosatom State Corporation Alexei Likhachev spoke at the Znanie.State Forum

---

On January 24, the Director General of the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom, Alexei Likhachev, addressed the participants of the Znanie.State forum of the Russian society Znanie at the National Centre RUSSIA. He spoke about all stages of the development of the global atomic industry, highlighted the significance of Soviet and Russian scientists in achieving leading positions, and outlined the corporation's current plans.

Alexei Likhachev began his speech by sharing important historical facts that laid the foundation for the modern atomic industry. According to him, Soviet scientists, despite the challenging living conditions, established the country's current sovereignty in their laboratories.

"When Andrei Sakharov arrived in Sarov, he was 29 years old, and his right-hand man, Yuri Trutnev, was 25. When Yuliy Khariton and Igor Kurchatov were first brought to Stalin's office, they were 37 and 38 years old. These lads — they saved the world and created a truly great atomic industry for our country. Paying tribute here, we must say that a film could be made about each of them. <...> They were all young. The sovereignty of our country and its current defense capability were undoubtedly established by them," said Alexei Likhachev, head of the Rosatom State Corporation. 

He noted that the Soviet Union was the first in the world to harness the peaceful atom. "We understand the destructive and devastating power we are dealing with now. But it is very important to understand — we were not the first to create nuclear weapons. And we never used them. It was our response. A response to a challenge that could not go unanswered. And the fact that we were second in the nuclear race—that is something we are proud of. We were not the first then, but we were absolutely the first in nuclear energy. <...> The first to build a nuclear power plant in the region, to raise the Soviet Union's flag over the nuclear icebreaker Lenin, and to launch underwater nuclear propulsion," emphasized Alexei Likhachev.

At the end of his speech, the Director General stated that Rosatom is a global leader in the development of nuclear energy. The corporation operates in 75 countries, and 22 out of 24 reactors currently under construction worldwide belong to Rosatom: "This is how cooperation in the field of peaceful nuclear energy develops, with Rosatom's plants being built abroad while simultaneously training local personnel — engineers, workers, and managers for the new facilities. Essentially, we are not just building a plant — we are creating a new energy and economic sector for our partners," he said.

According to him, working with young people within the framework of the Russian society Znanie is also of great importance. This year, joint events dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the nuclear industry will be held.

The Znanie.State Forum is a large-scale educational project by the Russian society Znanie for state and municipal employees, enabling them to gain deeper insights into the history, culture, economy, and geopolitics of Russia. The project has been implemented since 2022, featuring lectures and federal broadcasts from multimedia studios of the Russian society Znanie. Over the past two years, more than 30,000 lectures have been conducted under the Znanie.State initiative across all regions of Russia, with an audience of over 3.5 million people.