To Some Issues Uranium Extraction in Post War Czechoslovakia

Post-war supply of uranium from Czechoslovakia was USSR's fastest way of obtaining the material necessary to catch up on the advantage of USA in the nuclear arms race. The Central European state, outwardly still democratic (although already strongly left- wing at the time), was forced into cooperation by agreement signed in November 1945. Social democratic minister of industry Laušman was the only qualified member of cabinet present at the negotiation. He displayed his ability to oppose the Communists, even though until recently he has been considered an ally to the regime by historians, largely for his positive attidute towards nationalisation. The thesis shows that the Soviets were unable to obtain a monopoly on Czechoslovakian mining according to their wishes, but still dictated the volume of exploitation and the pricing and gradually transformed the joint commision conducting the mining into an official authority. Uranium mining turned into self-reliant industry which became a burden for the state, concealed at first and admitted later. Analysis of data until 1989 proves that the industry was regularly unprofitable. The totalitarian regime kept everything secret. First information became available at the begining of the 1990s, but historiography at the time concerned itself primarily with the..