Born in Simskii Zavod in the southern Urals. He graduated from Crimean University in 1923. In February 1943, Kurchatov was appointed to directed the Soviet Union’s nuclear weapons program, which he led until his death. Under his leadership the Soviet Union detonated its first atomic bomb in 1949 at the Semipalatinsk test site. 

After witnessing the Soviet’s 58 megaton superbomb, Kurchatov joined Sakharov in arguing against further testing. He died in 1960 and is buried in a place of honor in the Kremlin wall.