What motivated Soviet scientists to work in a place about which they could not say a word regarding its location and purpose? What effects did state pressure and privileges have on the research of these specialists? How real is the danger of nuclear proliferation today from disillusioned atomic scientists who see their privileges and societal recognition diminishing? What efforts are being made to prevent potential disasters? Are there alternatives to opening up the closed entities? The study presents the conditions for both the Soviet atomic project and the emergence of the forbidden cities, as well as addressing the question of what circumstances shaped the Soviet scientific and technical elite, who lived in golden cages characterized by comforts but also by strict secrecy.