ABSTRACT: The paper analyses the composition, objectives, and activities of the Commission for Support in Scientific Research (KPNI), which operated between 1952 and 1955. The Commission was responsible for the organization, financing, and coordination of scientific research in Yugoslavia, primarily focusing on geological and mining investigations in the search for uranium ore, as well as the work of institutes for nuclear research established in the late 1940s and early 1950s (“Boris Kidrič” Institute of Physics in Vinča, “Jožef Stefan” Institute in Ljubljana, and “Ruđer Bošković” Institute in Zagreb). The activities of the Commission are examined within the broader context of the development of the Yugoslav nuclear project and the external and internal factors that influenced it. In April 1955, the Commission’s responsibilities were transferred to the newly established Federal Commission for Nuclear Energy (SKNE), which continued to address these issues in the following period. The paper is based on archival materials of the KPNI preserved in the Archives of Yugoslavia, as well as documents from other archival fonds of the Archives of Yugoslavia, materials from “Jožef Stefan” Institute held in the Archives of the Republic of Slovenia in Ljubljana, records from the archives of the “Ruđer Bošković” Institute in Zagreb, and relevant scholarly literature.

KEYWORDS: Yugoslavia, nuclear research, uranium, reactor, nuclear institutes, Commission for Support in Scientific Research

SUMMARY: The Commission for Support in Scientific Research was established in 1952 within the Presidency of the Federative Peoples Republic of Yugoslavia, and in 1953 it was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Federal Executive Council. It was involved in the organization, financing and coordination of scientific research in Yugoslavia, primarily focusing on geological and mining exploration for uranium ore, and the work of nuclear institutes that were established in Yugoslavia in the late 1940es and early 1950es of the 20th century (the “Boris Kidrič” Institute of Physics in Vinča, the “Jožef Stefan” Institute of Physics in Ljubljana and the “Ruđer Bošković” Institute in Zagreb). The President of the Commission was initially Boris Kidrič, and from July 1953 Svetozar Vukmanović Tempo. The secretary was Slobodan Nakićenović, and the members were Pavle Savić, Ivan Supek, Anton Peterlin, Robert Jeanet Walen, Ivan Gošnjak, Jovo Kapičić, Dragiša Ivanović and Stevan Dedijer. The bodies of the State Security Administration played an important role in the work. Its activities were conducted through ten meetings held between July 1952 and January 1955, as well as through correspondence with institutes, state and military authorities, and commercial enterprises and organizations. The main goal of the Commission was the development of nuclear research and the construction of the first Yugoslav reactor: the main activities were focused on the type, construction and price of the reactor, as well as on the production or purchase of graphite or heavy water as a moderator for the reactor. The greatest effort was invested in geological and mining exploration for nuclear raw materials. The Commission was also responsible for international cooperation, procurement of equipment, trips of experts abroad and the engagement of foreign specialists. The work of Commission was a part of the ambitious Yugoslav nuclear program during the first half of the 1950s. It was a period of goal formulation, wandering and disagreements, lack of cooperation and attempts to adapt to internal and foreign political circumstances. In the context of the Cold War international changes (launching of the Atoms for Peace program, strengthening international cooperation in nuclear energy, technological competition among the great powers, and Yugoslavia’s policy of balancing between the two blocs), in April 1955, the competences of the Commission were more centralized and transferred to the newly formed Federal Commission for Nuclear Energy, which subsequently assumed responsibility for the coordination and direction of nuclear research.