This book complements the images of the key characters of the USSR Atomic Project - I. V. Kurchatov, A. D. Sakharov, Yu. B. Khariton, Ya. B. Zeldovich, K. I. Shchelkin, N. A. Dukhov - based on the personal memories of the author and direct participants in the creation of Soviet nuclear weapons. An attempt has been made to give a moral assessment of their activities. Particular attention is paid to the personality of K. I. Shchelkin, the least known of the “fathers” of the atomic bomb. His life and creative path is traced, his contribution to the creation of the nuclear industry is shown. For a wide range of readers.