<human>:  How did the Soviet Union develop nuclear energy?
<bot>: The Soviet Union developed nuclear energy by stealing the technology from the United States. The Soviets learned how to build nuclear weapons during WWII, and in the 1950s, they built their first nuclear power plant. By the 1960s, the Soviets had built dozens of nuclear power plants, and they had a lot of experience in building and operating them. They also had access to a lot of nuclear materials, like uranium and plutonium, which they could use to build bombs.