What was new on STAR Site?
May, 2002
May 31, 2002
Transcripts of Dr. Vladimir Rybachenkov's presentations are available on-line. The author is Doctor of Technical Sciences, Advisor of the Department for Security and Disarmament of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The lectures were presented at Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology as a part of the course "Strategic Arms and Problems of Security" .
- Nuclear Weapons Non-Proliferation Regime, - in Russian, April 25, 2002
- U.S.-Russian Cooperation On Threat Reduction Programs, - in Russian, April 18, 2002
May 28, 2002
"Expert" weekly magazine has published a story Umbrella Will Not Save Us From Nuclear Winter, - in Russian, (by Olga Ruban, Expert, N 20, May 27, 2002). Prospects for the U.S. missile defense system are discussed by our Center research associates Pavel Podvig and Eugene Miasnikov. See also our special section How Should Russia Respond to the Impending US NMD Deployment?
Data of Memorandum of Understanding for Russian Federation of January 2002 have been added in our section Soviet and Russian Strategic Forces (in Russian).
The section U.S. Strategic Forces (in Russian) has been updated.
May 25, 2002
U.S. President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty at the Summit in Moscow yesterday.
May 23, 2002
Today Russian Security Service (FSB) representative returned all copies of the book "Russian Strategic Nuclear Weapons" (ed. by Pavel Podvig, IzdAt, 1998) sized by FSB during a search in our Center in October 1999. We are glad to inform that we resume dissemination of this book.
On Wednesday, May 22 Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs made an official statement, that the text of a new Treaty on Strategic Offensive Reductions was completely prepared for signing by the Presidents and disclosed the essence of the document.
Preliminary analysis of the document shows, that though the sides agreed to reduce the levels of their strategic nuclear warheads to 1,700-2,200, they have not reached a compromise in the definition of "strategic nuclear warheads" and, consequently, in warhead counting rules. It should be underscored, that START I Treaty uses different definition - "strategic warheads". Appearance of an additional word "nuclear" in the new definition means that the Russian side in fact has agreed with the U.S. interpretation, which allows to deploy conventional warheads on strategic delivery platforms and at the same time exclude that platforms from counting. Thus, one may draw a conclusion, that the Russian position on ensuring irreversibility, which consisted in elimination of delivery means excluded from counting, has failed, as our experts predicted. Provisions published by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs show that the document in fact represents a framework agreement rather than a treaty, and the sides will have to work out the essence of the new document within the frames of "Bilateral Implementation Commission". Namely, they will have to work out the new definition of "strategic nuclear warhead" and transparency measures to verify the treaty implementation. However, this process may last until the end of the term of the new treaty, namely December 31, 2012, since there are no additional limitations or specific phases of the new treaty implementation and "each of the Sides will itself determine the composition and structure of its strategic offensive arms".
Links to new official statements and experts comments are placed at our daily updated special section Status of U.S.-Russian Negotiations on Strategic Arms Reduction. Events, Comments, Expert Opinions.
May 22, 2002
New section Soviet and Russian Strategic Forces (in Russian) is completed. The section covers history of development, current status and prospects for future of the Russian strategic forces as well as the history of US-Russian (Soviet) arms control negotiating process.
May 14, 2002
Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs made an official statement on Monday May 13, that U.S. and Russian "positions were cardinally approximated". President Bush announced the same day that "United States and Russia has agreed to a treaty" which "will liquidate the legacy of the Cold War". Nevertheless, majority of arms control experts think that the content of the new treaty more likely corresponds to a framework agreement, since principle differences on warhead counting can not be resolved at such a short time before the summit. The sides will likely be working on details after signing the document.
Vedomosti daily newspaper published an article with comments of experts with our Center Pavel Podvig and Eugene Miasnikov on U.S.-Russian negotiations of strategic arms reductions (Strategic Forces Will Be Cut Anyway, - in Russian, by Alexei Nikol'skii, Vedomosti, May 14, 2002)). In his yesterday's interview to Associated Press correspondent Pavel Podvig underscored: "...Both sides will do what they wanted to do, even without the agreement...New accord covers only loosely defined "operationally deployed" warheads...Without the definition of what kind of warheads they are talking about, it will be meaningless..." (Putin Hails Nuclear Deal With U.S., by Eric Engelman, Associated Press, Mon May 13, 3:56 PM ET)
Links to new official statements and experts comments are placed at our daily updated special section Status of U.S.-Russian Negotiations on Strategic Arms Reduction. Events, Comments, Expert Opinions.
May 13, 2002
Prospects of concluding a new strategic arms reductions agreement were discussed in Vladimir Pozner's Vremena program, aired on ORT TV Station on Sunday, May 12, 10:30 PM. Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, U.S. State Secretary Colin Powell and Colonel-General Yuri Baluyevski, Deputy Head of the General Staff of the Russian Federation Military Forces, participated in the live discussion. Pavel Podvig, an expert with our Center, was among the invited independent experts. An excerpt of a dispute between Pavel Podvig and Igor Ivanov broadcasted yesterday can be found at the STAR Site (in Russian).
April's issue of US Naval Institute Proceedings contains a review by Norman Polmar, a leading U.S. naval analyst and historian, on the book Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces, prepared by our Center and published by MIT Press last year. The author of the review underscores: "...Beyond the excellent content of the book, the volume stands as a model for such surveys of military forces....".
May 6, 2002
In order to commemorate pioneering work of Maxim Tarasenko in space policy, Elsevier Science has decided to hold an annual competition, open to all law school students and graduate students of space policy, to find the best essay. Maxim Tarasenko was a research associate with our Center. He died three years ago in a car accident.
Sections How Should Russia Respond to the Impending US NMD Deployment? and Current Status and Future of Russian Strategic Forces have been updated.
April, 2002
April 30, 2002
Commenting on-going US-Russian disarmament talks Prof. Anatoli Diakov, the Director of our Center, said in an interview to The New York Times correspondent: "...the rules of how to verify, and of storage versus destruction — these are very serious problems... Saying we are friends, not enemies, and don't need treaties anymore — it is just not true yet..." (Russia Offers U.S. Alternatives on Reduction of Warheads, by Sabrina Tavernise, The New York Times, April 30, 2002).
Our special page "Status of U.S.-Russian Negotiations on Strategic Arms Reduction" has been updated. News on this issue and fresh comments of experts will be placed daily in the section "Current Events and Comments".
Izvestia daily recently published an article Tiny Nuclear Myths, - in Russian, (by Robert Nelson and Pavel Podvig, Izvestia, April 24, 2002).
April 21, 2002
Transcript of Dr. Vladimir Rybachenkov's presentation "Disposition of Excess Nuclear Weapon Materials: Problems and Solutions" (in Russian) is available on-line. The author is Doctor of Technical Sciences, Advisor of the Department for Security and Disarmament of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The lecture was presented at Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology on April 4, 2002.
April 5, 2002
Transcripts of two recent presentations of the "Strategic Arms and Problems of Security" course at Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology were published today:
- "ABM Treaty and Strategic Stability", (in Russian), by Major-General Victor Koltunov (Ret.), Consultant of the International Treaties Department of the Russian Ministry of Defense, March 28, 2002
- "Balance of Strategic Offensive and Defensive Weapons at New Conditions. Future of Arms Control in the Process of Arms Reductions", (in Russian), by Nikolay Lysenko, Director of the Department of Security and Disarmament of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, February 28, 2002
April 1, 2002
Transcript of Victor Koltunov's presentation "Strategic Arms Reductions Verification Mechanism" (in Russian) is available on-line. The lecture was presented at Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology on March 21, 2002.
March, 2002
March 25, 2002
The paper Needless Obligations. Why Does Russia Want A Treaty With No Substance?, (by Anatoli Diakov, Timur Kadyshev, Eugene Miasnikov and Pavel Podvig, Izvestia, March 18, 2002, p. 4) is now available in English.
March 19, 2002
Transcript of Major-General Vladimir Dvorkin's presentation "Current State and Prospects of U.S. and Russian Strategic Offensive Forces" (in Russian) is now available on-line. The lecture was presented at Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology on March 7, 2002.
First four pages of a new section Soviet And Russian Strategic Forces (in Russian) are published on our Center's web site. The section gives a historical background of Russian strategic forces development.
March 18, 2002
Today Izvestia daily newspaper has published a paper prepared by our Center: Needless Obligations. Why Does Russia Want A Treaty With No Substance?, - in Russian, (by Anatoli Diakov, Timur Kadyshev, Eugene Miasnikov and Pavel Podvig, Izvestia, March 18, 2002, p. 4)
March 7, 2002
Transcript of Hon. Alexei Arbatov's presentation Current Problems of U.S.-Russian Relations and Offensive Arms Reductions (in Russian) is now available on-line. The lecture was presented at Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology on February 21, 2002.
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