There was the only party in the Soviet past, the Communist Party. A person could hardly make a worthy career, including a scientific one, without being a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). A distinguished leader had necessarily to be a Party member. Therefore, Academician Bruno Pontecorvo, Head of a LNP department, had a Party-membership card and attended party meetings.

However, non-party persons had to remember the role of the Party and founding fathers of the communist ideology in every area of life, and in the scientific one as well. Any school report, university graduation thesis or scientific paper had to begin with something of the sort: “V. I. Lenin repeatedly emphasized the significance of the development of physics in order to successfully build communism in our country. The 25th Congress of the CPSU called the USSR scientists to strengthen with untiring efforts...”

Almost everyone was admitted to the All-Union Leninist Young Communist League (Komsomol) in senior school.

We should note that Party organizations of JINR laboratories played an important role in decision and strategy making. And it is hardly surprising since Party Committees were made up of high-level leaders. Burning issues were often brought up, and at that time, it was Bruno Pontecorvo who initiated discussions.

There are quite a few pieces of evidence from that time left in the Museum-Study of Bruno Pontecorvo.

In the photo: The LNP Director V. P. Dzhelepov addresses a Young Communist League meeting. Preliminary points of the speech by B. Pontecorvo with corrections and quotes from the “Pravda” newspaper. The paper by D. I. Blokhintsev. Various Party meeting documents.