Nixons decision was widely publicized and documents revealing the reasons behind it are, in the main, available to the public in the national archives, the. This collection of documents, spanning three decades from the 1960s to the 1980s, focus on cias collection and analysis of the soviet navy. Soviet chemical weapons threat dst1620f05185 this is a department of defense intelligence document prepared by the directorate for scientific and technical intelligence of. Semenov even though the soviet union is a large industrial state which bases its economic development on its own mineral fuel resources, it cannot afford to neglect the development of nuclear power, because about 80% of its energy resources are concentrated in eastern regions. The history of the soviet biological weapons program. Soviet designers began developing assault rifles as early as 1944. Rearrange individual pages or entire files in the desired order. Soviet chemical weapons threat dst1620f05185 this is a department of defense intelligence document prepared by the directorate for scientific and technical intelligence of the defense intelligence agency. Aug 21, 2015 the previously top secret files show how a mole in britains nuclear weapons research programme was given instructions by his soviet handlers which read like details from a john le. During the events of 40s50s, the soviet union was threatened by mysterious alien spaceships destroying military installations. Topsecret history of kgb, 1977, chapters 112 and appendix. Beginning of a dialog window, including tabbed navigation to register an account or sign in to an existing account. Kazakhstan which were illprepared to protect weapons grade material from potential smugglers as a result of horizontal proliferation nuclear weapons and the environment, 2009. The alert came at a time of high tension between the two countries, due in part to the u.
Late 1990s used by russian armed forces russia ks23. The soviet union maintained the largest known offensive biological weapons program to date. Military aid to the soviet union will come as a surpriseand perhaps as an unwelcome shockto almost all readers. In fact, the soviet government spent billions of rubles and hard currency to fund a hugely. Pdf marburg and ebola virus research in the soviet. Weapons convention the spelling and the order in which presented are as in the original documents. The antiplague system and the soviet biological warfare program.
Weapon caliber in service variants photo country rmb93. Former soviet biological weapons facilities in kazakhstan. This is an essential, verifiable first step toward lessening the risk of nuclear war and reducing the nuclear arsenals. The general staff maintained plans to invade western europe whose massive scale was only made publicly available after german researchers gained access to national peoples army files following the dissolution of the. While the immediate reason for the meeting was the crisis in the middle east, the u. Secret files reveal techniques of cold war soviet spies. The em12b ak shotgun from io incroyal tiger imports. The soviet union establishcd nuclear pawer for space applications. At that very time, however, the soviet union was embarking on a massive expansion of its offensive biological weapons program, which began i. Annexe b provides the text of selected treaties and other documents. In 1972, the united states, the soviet union and other nations signed the biological and toxin weapons convention that was supposed to ban biological weapons. Soviet biological warfare threat the soviet biological warfare capability the soviet offensive bw program has been monitored by the u.
Russian officials claim today that the ussr never possessed an offensive biological weapons program. Opponents of soviet weapon exports identified and exaggerated the shortcomings of weapons used in military con flicts, thus reducing their competitive strength. The united states and the soviet union were the leading actors. The horror of a nuclear holocaust is universally acknowledged. Media in category army weapons of the soviet union the following 6 files are in this category, out of 6 total. Stalin and the the beginning of the uranium problem atomic.
It was created as a replacement for the dp machine gun chambered for the 7. Kgb defectors cold war secrets revealed at last this article is more than 5 years old vasili mitrokhins demand granted 20 years on. Kgb defectors cold war secrets revealed at last this article is more than 5 years old vasili mitrokhins demand granted 20 years on as 2,000 pages of notes he made from kgb archives. The soviet bw program began in the 1920s at the leningrad military academy under the control of the state security apparatus, known as the gpu.
China was neither emboldened nor more cautious because of its rudimentary nuclear capability. It is a first attempt to penetrate what may ultimately turn out to be one of the most tragic. Blechman ong relegated to the fringes of policy discussions, nuclear disarmament has moved to center stage in the past few years. Negative and positive control of nuclear weapons 11. Simp son, one of the bzlletins founders, says that a 15. Soviet us sipri stockholm international peace research institute. Kazakhstan which were illprepared to protect weaponsgrade material from potential smugglers as a result of horizontal proliferation nuclear weapons and the environment, 2009. It is the weapon that first springs to mind when one thinks about russianmade small arms. But for those seeking to understand the soviet unions complicated relationship with biological weapons, perhaps with an eye toward discerning the russian federations. Conceived at the dawn of the cold war, the clock was designed with a 15minute range. During world war ii, joseph stalin was forced to move his biological warfare bw operations out of the path of advancing german forces and may have used tularemia against german troops in 1942 near stalingrad by 1960, numerous bw research facilities existed throughout the soviet union. Marburg virus and ebola virus, became part of that program in the early 1970s, but.
A great encapsulated overview of soviet weapons systems and strategytactics for the period covers much of the material in the official dia pamphlets on soviet motorrifle and tank companiesbatallionsregiments etc. This topsecret 639page history of the soviet state security organs was completed in 1977 under the auspices of viktor chebrikov, the deputy head of the kgb who later became head of the agency. Pdf russian officials claim today that the ussr never possessed an offensive biological weapons program. Conventional arms transfers during the soviet period. Medvedev is the author of a number of standard works on science in the soviet union. It has been said that the history of nuclear weapons is at once fascinating and horrifying. Following political instability builtup in europe from 1930, germany, which aimed to dominate europe, attacked poland on 1 september 1939, marking the start of world war ii. The soviet biological weapons program and its legacy in. Today, the united states and the soviet union possess 50,000 nuclear weapons. Russian disinformation campaigns re biological weapons in. Soviet ground force weapons and armored vehicles sr ih 693 keywords. Johnson and soviet premier alexei kosygin took place in glassboro, new jersey, in the immediate aftermath of the sixday war between u. Russias tactical nuclear weapons the web site cannot be found.
Covers soviet army armor and weapons during maneuvers. Conventional arms transfers during the soviet period yuriy kirshin i. In the sinosoviet border conflict, however, nuclear weapons had little apparent influence on chinas decision to attack the soviets on 2 march. In addition, earlier in the month the soviet union shot down a korean airlines passenger plane that strayed into its. Incor porating refinements in a number of significant areas, these newer missiles, coupled with the older ones, provide the soviet union with an effective weapons mix. When the biological and toxin weapons convention bwc of 1972 went into force in 1975, the issue became one of whether or not the soviets were in compliance. List of soviet union military equipment of world war ii. By 1947, more than a dozen designs were tested before the soviet army finally adopted the nowfamous ak47 rifle. The accusations against the americans were fictitious. Russian disinformation campaigns re biological weapons in the. It is a first attempt to penetrate what may ultimately turn out to be one of the most tragic stories in the 200year history of the american republic. Cold war nuclear target lists declassified for first time. During the cold war, the soviet union valued nuclear weapons for both their political. The basic ak47, however, has not been produced in the russian.
Subcategories this category has the following 5 subcategories, out of 5 total. Between 1940 and 1950, us newspapers reported countless flying saucers, men in black, alien contacts of 4th kind. Jul 20, 2012 the soviet biological weapons program is an immense work, and one whose very thoroughnesswhen conflicting narratives are available, both are offeredcan be exhausting. Introduction during the cold war the main feature of international relations was an active confrontation between two opposing social and economic systems. Color very weak, looks like black and white on color stock.
Following political instability builtup in europe from 1930, germany, which aimed to. Toxic archipelago examines another aspect of the ussrs weapons of mass destruction legacy, the proliferation problems that stem from the former soviet chemical and biological weapons complexes. This occurred despite the fact that the ussr was a signatory to the 1925 geneva convention, which banned both chemical and biological weapons. After the demise of the former soviet union, horizontal. Nuclear weapon deployments in the former soviet union, 5 as of early 199 1 locations of active strategic forces in the fsu, as of late 1994 strategic nuclear weapons of the former soviet union outside russia, as of late 1994 russian operational strategic nuclear forces, as of late 1994 3.
The soviet union began a biological weapons program in the 1920s. University of california press, 1990, by william a. It was with this possibility in mindthat the united states. Strategic nuclear weapons of the former soviet union outside russia, as of late 1994 russian operational strategic nuclear forces, as of late 1994 3. At the same time, however, the ussrs bloated defence sector is one of the factors that provoked the collapse of the soviet economy, the political system, and ultimately the soviet state itself. The soviet union was the primary developer and producer of weapons for the warsaw pact side of the cold war arms race against nato. The soviet biological weapons program the soviet unions firstgeneration biological warfare program, 19261972 russian armies suffered heavy losses from disease during all three of the major conflicts they were involved in at the beginning of the 20 th century. Brief history of the soviet biological weapons bw program. Documents related to the soviet biological warfare bw program were. Amy e smithson, vil s mirzayanov, roland lajoie, michael krepon keywords. List of modern russian small arms and light weapons.
The soviet biological weapons program is an immense work, and one whose very thoroughnesswhen conflicting narratives are available, both are offeredcan be exhausting. Why the arms race doesnt matterand what does berkeley. The soviet biological weapons program and its legacy in todays. In addition, this collection is a continuation of previous releases on the warsaw pact forces available at cia analysis of warsaw pact forces and soviet and warsaw pact military journals and adds 82 newly released documents ranging from translation of. Soviet chemical weapon developments only to indicate the full scope of. The continuing deterioration of the nonproliferation regime, the sudden emergence of north korea as a nuclearweapon state and of iran as a potential weapon state, concerns about the stability. The following is a list of soviet military equipment of world war ii which includes artillery, vehicles and vessels.
Nonetheless, soviet forces possessed too few theaterlevel nuclear weapons to fulfil warplan requirements until the mid1980s. Never before has the board of directors moved the minute hand so far at one time. An excellent one stop reference book if youre looking to game 1980s cold war soviets. The soviets moved quickly in the development of iowpower nucle ar. The vertical proliferation in the former soviet union led to the emergence of two unintended policy consequences.
The soviet luminaries of science were assisted by a group of german physicists taken to the soviet union after germanys surrender14 as well as by the soviet military intelligence. Weapons of terror yale center for the study of globalization. The spread in the press of information about the use by the americans of bacteriological weapons in korea was based on false information. World war ii was the deadliest war in history which started in 1939 and ended in 1945. The previously top secret files show how a mole in britains nuclear weapons research programme was given instructions by his soviet handlers which read like details from a john le. The soviet government and the central committee of the cpsu were misled. German soldiers became ill with the rare pulmonary form of tularemia, which may indicate the use of an aerosol biological weapon the ordinary. The soviet biological weapons program and its legacy in today.
1518 1196 1046 344 352 301 986 391 521 171 1038 931 94 817 572 1184 1281 1499 276 743 360 1177 1009 937 677 95 563 1060 1130 513 703 973 316 1067 908 251 257 359 335 1209 1287