Nuclear weapons remain one of the most hotly debated subjects in the modern world: is their protective value outweighed by their potential for devastation?
Now, a previously classified video of the world's largest-ever nuclear explosion has been released by Russia's state-run nuclear division ROSATOM.
The bomb in question was called Tsar Bomba or the Tsar Bomb, and it was detonated on 30 October 1961 off the coast of Severny Island near the Arctic Ocean, unleashing 50 megatons - or 50 million tons - of explosives, per the New York Times.
To put its power into context, the Tsar Bomb was 3,333 times more powerful than the one that was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan.
Watch the previously classified footage of the explosion below:
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The Tsar Bomb was also considerably more powerful than the largest ever detonated in the US, which was a 15 megaton device that detonated in 1954, the NYT continued.
The shocking footage above was released to mark the 75th anniversary of Russia's nuclear industry.
The Tsar Bomb was so big that fuel tanks had to be dropped from the Tu-95V Soviet bomber to make room for the 27-tonne, eight-meter long weapon, which was detonated 4,000 meters above the ground.
While it wasn't intended, the shockwave from the explosion actually hit the bomber, who was 120 km from the point of detonation of a blast that could be seen from as far as 998 km away.
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If you're wondering how this was even possible, the mushroom cloud created by the blast went up 68 km into the air, making it seven times higher than Mount Everest and reports at the time stated that buildings within 55km of it were destroyed.
However, the blast could have been worse as the bomb itself was designed to create a 100-megaton explosion, but alterations were made to reduce its power in order to protect people in the area.
The Tsar Bomb was one of the last detonated above ground prior to the signing of the Partial Test Ban Treaty in 1963, which required all future tests to be carried out underground.