On September 14, 1954, an atomic bomb with a capacity of about 40 kilotons was detonated at the Totsky test site near Orenburg. As part of an experiment to study the consequences of a nuclear explosion, a few hours later, military personnel in chemical protection suits passed through its epicenter. A secret operation codenamed "Snowball" turned into a disaster: more than 45,000 military and 10,000 civilians were exposed to deadly radiation. This book is the result of more than twenty years of research work by journalist Vyacheslav Moiseev. He began collecting information bit by bit back in the 1980s, having carefully studied the eyewitness accounts of the atomic explosion, and then declassified documents from archives and carefully selected publications in the media. His book is about the responsibility of the organizers of the Totsky experiment to the unwitting participants in the rehearsal of the apocalypse, to Russia and history itself.Although atomic exercises were considered a great Soviet secret, but over the years, when it was not accepted to talk about state affairs (because, first of all, it was unsafe), they turned into a kind of legend for us, Orenburg residents, which everyone learned from childhood — from those who saw a nuclear explosion with their own eyes, or from those who personally knew the eyewitnesses of the exercises.Unique author's photos.The combat mission was explained to the personnel, they tried to do everything to avoid human casualties. The soldiers did not fail. There was no panic, no desertion. The officers were not confused either. Well, however, there were those who tried to "mow down" — they asked for a vacation, remembered about sick relatives.For those who are interested in the history of the USSR, the topic of the atomic confrontation between the USA and the USSR, the unknown history of atomic exercises in the USSR.First, a flash brighter than lightning. Light is stronger than the sun. Those who, despite the prohibitions, looked at the fireball, lost their sight for a minute or two. People heard a terrible crack — louder than thunder, as if in the sky the hands of a giant were tearing sheet iron. The earth rocked like a cradle.