TRAINING PROGRAM FOR YOUNG RESEARCHERS IN THE FIELD OF NONPROLIFERATION OF WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION

Since January 2001, the PIR Center has been implementing the "Training Program for Young Researches in the Field of Nonproliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction".

The objective of the program is to raise educational level and enhance professional skills of young researchers from governmental and nongovernmental structures working in the area of arms control and WMD nonproliferation. The target audience also includes scholars, post-graduate and senior students, journalists and all other people interested in these issues.

The program has a form of an intense course, which helps the students to expand their horizon in the area of nuclear nonproliferation, get a systematic vision of international security and understand technical aspects of WMD nonproliferation, promote nonproliferation culture and values. At the same time, the students get practical recommendations on how to solve problems they have to face in actual policymaking. The course is free of charge.

The project is to be carried out for two years. On April 27, 2001 the PIR Center has successfully finished two-week lecture course organized in the framework of the project.

The course consisted of 18 lectures. 13 lecturers delivered lectures during the program: the Director of the PIR Center Dr. Vladimir A. Orlov; PIR Senior Advisor, Professor Amb. Roland M. Timerbaev; PIR Senior Research Associate Dr. Dmitry G. Evstafiev; the PIR Senior Advisor, Gen. (ret.) Yevgeni Maslin, the PIR Advisor Gen. Leut. Vassily F. Lata, PIR Research Associate, PIR Deputy Director Prof. Yuri E. Fedorov; MGIMO Assistant Professor Ildar A. Akhtamzyan; PIR Research Council member, Minatom official Marina P. Belyaeva, Government Administration consultant Dr. Natalia Kalinina, Deputy Director of the AST Center Konstantin V. Makiyenko, leading Research Assosiate of the Research Institute of the Ministry of Defense Leonid Chumenko, Senior expert of Glavkosmos Gennady Khromov, Director of the Center for International and Strategic studies Maj.-Gen. Vladimir Belous.

13 students took part in the program: Marina Abrakova, Yury Opanasuk, Nadejda Koroleva (Kurchatov Institute), Oleg Barabanov (Russian Institute for Strategic Studies), Vitaly Shishkov (Ministry of Defense), Vladimir Khlebnikov (Ministry for Foreign Affairs), Olga Mikheeva (Russian Federal Nuclear Center VNIIEF, Sarov), Natalia Mironova (Movement for Nuclear Security, Chelyabinsk), Andrey Talevlin (Public organization "Pravosoznanie", Chelyabinsk), Konstantin Kozlov (Institute of International Ecological Security, Chelyabinsk), Svetlana Ryabokon (High School of Economics), Marsalina Tsyrenjapova (PIR Center), Vitaly Khijnyak (Nuclear Nonproliferation Center, Chelyabinsk).

Besides the lectures in the framework of the program were organized excursions to nuclear research centers such as Institute for Physics and Power Engineering (Obninsk) and Kurchatov Institute (Moscow). Upon the completion of the course the students received Nonproliferation Textbook and a range of other PIR Center`s publications.

In the participants opinion the course was very interesting and informative, and gives understanding of nonproliferation issues as a whole. The knowledge received during the course the participants will use in their professional, scientific and teaching activities.

• Arms control and nonproliferation: introduction into the problem. Bibliographical Review.
• Nuclear arms and nuclear energy sector.
• Nuclear nonproliferation: history and evolution. The Non-Proliferation Treaty.
• International organisations in the area of nuclear energy and nonproliferation. IAEA and the safeguards system.
• Nuclear-weapon states: military doctrines, nuclear programs and nonproliferation policy.
• Regional aspects of nuclear nonproliferation.
• Nuclear-weapon-free zones.
• Russian international obligations and national legislation on nuclear energy, nuclear security, and nonproliferation.
• Russia`s nuclear nonproliferation policy.
• The international nonproliferation regime in the 1990s.
• Nuclear arms control: bilateral agenda.
• Nonproliferation and arms control: multilateral agenda.
• Control and disposition of weapons-grade nuclear materials. Storage, transportation, and tests of nuclear weapons.
• WMD nonproliferation oriented export controls.
• Russian national export controls.
• Non-traditional challenges to WMD nonproliferation.
• International proliferation threat reduction programs. CTR Program.
• Missiles proliferation problem. Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR).
• Chemical and biological weapons: proliferation and prohibition problems.
• Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty.

To obtain more information, please contact Program Coordinator Anton Khlopkov at khlopkov@pircenter.org, Tel: (095) 234-0525, Fax: (095) 234-9558.