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Russian Strategic Modernization
Past and Future
Authors:
Publisher:
2000
Summary
This invaluable study provides a unique insider's view of the history of Soviet and Russian policy on nuclear weapons modernization and charts the future evolution of the Russian strategic arsenal. Using information that has only recently become available and introducing new, previously unknown data, Sokov concludes that the most important force behind the evolution of the Soviet and Russian strategic arsenal was the military itself, which sought to increase strategic stability by enhancing the survivability of weapons systems. The highly destabilizing posture of the 1970s and 1980s was, he argues, in a sense 'accidental,' resulting from the failure of several R&D programs and specific features of the Soviet decisionmaking mechanism. The author demonstrates that the role of such factors as the economic crisis, U.S. modernization programs, and general Russian foreign policy goals has been exaggerated by Western analysts. No matter how hard-pressed, Russia will hold to its current plans, Sokov argues. At the same time, the military will be unlikely to engage in a new arms buildup even if the economic situation improves or a nationalist government comes to power. Instead, stability will be sought through better quality of weapons at progressively lower levels. Introducing a wealth of new information on Soviet and Russian national security policymaking, the author explores in meticulous detail such key issues as decisions on weapons development, arms-control negotiations, and the handling of the Soviet nuclear arsenal after the breakup of the Soviet Union. The reader will be able to follow the debates and intrigues between military planners, diplomats, and weapons designers as they clashed over the choice of acquisition programs and negotiating positions. With its combination of informed analysis and use of new documentation, this work will be invaluable for all concerned with U.S.-Russian strategic relations.
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Bibliographic data
Edition
1/2000
Copyright Year
2000
ISBN-Print
978-0-8476-9466-2
ISBN-Online
978-1-4616-1633-7
Publisher
Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham
Language
English
Pages
205
Product Type
Monograph
Table of contents
ChapterPages
Table of Contents No access
Foreword No access
Preface No access
Table of Designations for Soviet/Russian Strategic Ballistic Missiles No access
Introduction No access Pages 1 - 18
1: An Unintended Posture No access
2: Arms Control Talks and the Shaping of the New Posture No access
3: A Leap over Stages of Development No access
4: Modernization of the Russian Nuclear Triad No access
