Vavilov Institute for the History of Science and Technology, Russian Academy of Sciences (Moscow, Russia)

M. Kh. Zakirova, Researcher, Candidate of Historical Sciences, zakirova2023@outlook.com

The article, based on archival materials, examines the history of research and development of the first radium deposit in Russian Empire and USSR – Tyuya-Muyun. The author shows how the first radium expeditions were organized with the discovery of uranium-vanadium ores at Tyuya-Muyun. Based on their results, a mine was put into operation, and radium production began on an industrial scale. In the 1930s and 1940s, the mine was virtually inactive due to the abundance of groundwater, but with the development of the Atomic Project, the government once again focused on the Tyuya-Muyun radium deposit. In the 1950s, the mine was closed due to depletion of reserves, and the government's interests shifted to other uranium-radium deposits in Central Asia and the USSR.

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