So I know that Japan in part surrendered in ww2 because of the atom bomb.
But I also heard that the Russians were planning to join the pacific theater of war around the time of the bombs dropping because of Germany surrendering and that the Japanese were scared of the Russians more so than of Americans.
So my question I guess is if the Russians entering the conflict against Japan the bigger reason they actually surrendered than the atomic bombs?
More can be written, but you might like to start with the FAQ section "The atomic bombs, aka questions /u/restricteddata has answered" . Interestingly, the two that look most applicable are credited to /u/t-o-k-u-m-e-i and "Various", not restricteddata. But /u/restricteddata has a good reply as well at "During WWII, how close were the Japanese to surrendering before the dropping of the atomic bombs?" -- the conclusion is similar to others, but I like the quotation from the "US Strategic Bombing Survey from July 1946" to give a flavor of what at least some people wrote at the time.
This is not to discourage discussion More questions, data, and debate are welcome.