{
  "id": "RL32202",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL32202",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 104220,
      "date": "2004-01-21",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-08T14:29:09.183635",
      "title": "Nuclear Weapons in Russia: Safety, Security, and Control Issues",
      "summary": "When the Soviet Union collapsed in late 1991, it reportedly possessed more than 27,000 nuclear\nweapons, and these weapons were deployed on the territories of several of the former Soviet\nrepublics. All of the nuclear warheads have now been moved to Russia, but Russia still has around\n5,500 strategic nuclear weapons and perhaps as many as 12,000 warheads for nonstrategic nuclear\nweapons. \n  Many analysts in the United States and Russia have expressed concerns about the safety,\nsecurity, and control over these weapons. Some of these concerns focus on Russia's nuclear\ncommand and control structure. Financial constraints have slowed the modernization and\nreplacement of many aging satellites and communications links, raising the possibility that Russia\nmight not be able to identify a potential attack or communicate with troops in the field if an attack\nwere underway. Some fear that the misinterpretation of an ambiguous event might lead to the\nlaunch of nuclear weapons. Some also expressed concern that the year 2000 computer bug could\naffect Russia's command and control system, but it did not.\n  Some concerns are also focused on the safety and security of nuclear warheads in storage\nfacilities in Russia. Press reports and statements by Russian officials about possible missing\nwarheads have added to these concerns. However, General Eugene Habiger, former\nCommander-in-Chief of the U.S. Strategic Command, stated that he had no major concerns about\nsecurity at Russian nuclear storage facilities after he visited several storage sites in Oct. 1997 and\nJune 1998.\n  The United States and Russia are cooperating in many fora to improve the safety, security, and\ncontrol over Russia's nuclear weapons and materials. Through the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat\nReduction (CTR) Program, the U.S. Department of Defense has provided assistance worth nearly\n$2 billion to help Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Belarus safely transport and store weapons and\neliminate launchers under the START Treaties. The Department of Energy's Materials Protection,\nControl and Accounting Program is helping Russia and other former Soviet republics secure nuclear\nmaterials at research and other facilities in the former Soviet Union. The nations have also held\nbilateral meetings to identify ways in which they might cooperate to improve security and resolve\nconcerns.\n  This report will not be updated. For current information on U.S. and Russian efforts to address\nconcerns about the safety and security of Russian nuclear weapons and materials see  CRS Report RL31957 , Nonproliferation and Threat Reduction Assistance: U.S. Programs in the Former Soviet\nUnion.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": false,
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          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/RL32202",
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      ],
      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Foreign Affairs",
    "National Defense"
  ]
}