This week, Russian Defense Minister Sergei B. Ivanov, while departing for a working visit to the United States, announced to journalists that, in April, the US will conduct a nuclear security exercise in Wyoming; and that, for the first time, representatives of the 12th Main Directorate of the Russian Ministry of Defense are the only ones who have been invited as international observers. The fact that Russia will be the only observer of the US nuclear security exercise cannot be called an accident. The Russian Ministry of Defense also gives this issue the highest attention. In 2004, an analogous exercise called “Emergency-2004,” was conducted in Russia. At this exercise, there were 48 observers from 17 NATO member-states, and the Russian leadership was represented by Minister of Defense Ivanov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Kislyak, the Commander of the Leningrad Military District General Valentin S. Bobrishev, Northern Fleet Commander Vice-Admiral Mikhail L. Abramov, the Head of the 12th Main Directorate Igor N. Valinkin. Deputy Head of the 12th Main Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, Vladimir N. Verkhovtsev further described the exercise to Yaderny Kontrol in an interview that will be published in the journal’s next issue. You can find the text of that interview here: www.pircenter.org/data/news/Verkhovtzev.pdf

Commenting in his article on international cooperation in the area of nuclear security, Verkhovtsev stated that, “Cooperation in the nuclear sphere within the framework of the Russia-NATO Council, primarily in the area of securing nuclear weapons, produces real, practical results. In connection with Russia’s actions to increase openness through cooperation with foreign states, the “Emergency-2004” exercise was a truly unprecedented event.”

“Participating in the observation of exercises – this is the first stage of cooperation. At this stage, it is very important to exchange the experiences gained by the nuclear states in this area of activity. This must be done with a maximum level of openness, as Russia did in the “Emergency-2004” exercise. In the second stage of cooperation, one can move to joint activities by specialists from the nuclear states for mitigating and dealing with the consequences of incidents involving nuclear weapons. This is very laborious task, requiring complete understanding and accountability in one’s actions – and with no room for mistakes. Here, the interaction of the personal staffs of the brigades for dealing with the consequences, which will prepare to work together in emergency situations, is most important,” Verkhovtsev writes in his article.

Further information on the problem of nuclear security can be found in the following PIR Center publications:

• Maslin, Evgeny P. “Security of Nuclear Arsenals in the Russian Federation.” Yaderny Kontrol. Vol. 10, No. 4, 2004. p.17. (in Russian)
• Lata, Vasily F. “Strategic Nuclear Forces and the Provision of National Security.” Yaderny Kontrol. Vol. 9, No. 4, 2004. p.101. (in Russian)
• Lata, Vasily F. “Nuclear Security and the Human Factor.” Yaderny Kontrol. Vol. 9, No. 4, 2004. p.81. (in Russian)
• Kupriyanova, Irinia A. “Nuclear Facility Safety Culture: Criterion for Evaluation and Methods for its Increase.” Yaderny Kontrol. Vol. 10, No. 2, 2004. p.45. (in Russian)