The RDS-1, was the Soviet Union's first nuclear weapon test. It's also known as Joe-1, in reference to Joseph Stalin. It was test-exploded on 29 August 1949, at Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan. The RDS-1 explosion yielded 22 kilotons of TNT, similar to the American Gadget and Fat Man bombs. At Lavrenty Beria's insistence, the RDS-1 bomb was designed after the Fat Man bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan. The Soviets called it First Lightning (Pervaya molniya), and its development was facilitated by espion… (More on Joe-1)