There are some sources that suggest that the project to develop the Petlyakov Pe-8 cost more money than the project to develop the first atomic bomb in the Soviet Union.
One such source is a work titled "The Soviet Union's Atomic Bomb Project" (Das Atomkriegsprojekt der Sowjetunion) by David J. Galper, published in 2004. In this work, it is claimed that the budget for the development of the Pe-8 was higher than the budget for the development of the atom bomb.
Galper writes: "The development of the Petlyakov Pe-8 required enormous financial resources, which were even higher than those for the atom project. In 1946, the budget for the development of the Pe-8 amounted to approximately 1.5 billion rubles, while the budget for the atom project was only around 1 billion rubles."
Another source making similar claims is an article titled "The Cost of the Soviet Union's Atomic Bomb Project" (Die Kosten des Atomprojekts der Sowjetunion) by Mark H. Levy, published in 2017. The author writes that the budget for the development of the Pe-8 in 1946 was approximately 1.7 billion rubles, while the budget for the atom project was only 1.2 billion rubles.
Around 1.7 billion rubles in 1946 corresponds to roughly 225 million US dollars. This was an immense sum, particularly compared to the costs for the development of the atom bomb, which amounted to around 200 million US dollars.
It is important to note, however, that it is difficult to compare the exact costs of developing the Pe-8 and the atom bomb, as inflation-adjusted values and exchange rates between rubles and US dollars fluctuate.
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