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.
Hosted festive events dedicated to the 35th anniversary of the Association of Indigenous Small-Numbered Peoples of the North, Siberia, and the Far East of the Russian Federation, and the 95th anniversary of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area – Yugra.
The international campaign "Victory Dictation" took place in Moscow on April 25 across 497 venues.
Essayist participating in the Open Dialogue "The Future of the World. New Platform for Global Growth" took a guided tour of the interactive exposition "Journey Across Russia".