In Anticipation of a ‘Total’ War: Medical Development Projects of the Local Anti-Air Defence of the USSR (1946-1949)

In the early Cold War years, against the backdrop of the United States’ nuclear monopoly, the Soviet Union’s Local Anti-Air Defence (LAAD) was tasked with developing a comprehensive system of medical-hygienic protection across the country. This included the creation of new areas of activity within LAAD’s Medical Sanitary Services (MHS), addressing nuclear and bacteriological threats. Renamed the Medical Service (MS) of the MPVO in 1948, this body played a key role in the planning of mass civilian protection. This article presents the first comprehensive study of the theoretical frameworks and practical steps taken to establish a universal system of medical protection on the Soviet home front. Drawing on materials from the Russian State Military Historical Archive – including programme documents, meeting summaries, and inspection reports – it reconstructs both the reform proposals and their initial implementation. These included the drafting of the 1949 temporary regulation “On the Medical Service of the USSR LAAD”, the creation of a decentralised institutional network, and the militarisation of training programmes. Although attempts were made to initiate anti-nuclear preparedness – such as briefings on nuclear weapons, and scientific initiatives within LAAD’s research laboratories – systematic work was curtailed in 1948 due to the secrecy surrounding the Soviet atomic project. Regular training resumed only after the USSR’s successful detonation of an atomic bomb and changes in leadership. While many post-war projects remained unrealised, the core principles laid down during this period became foundational to the civil protection systems of both the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation.