Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces [Hardcover]

P. L. Podvig (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2001

This encyclopedic book provides comprehensive data about Soviet and Russian strategic weapons, payloads, and delivery systems and on the nuclear complex that supports them. The data are drawn from open, primarily Russian sources. All the information is presented chronologically, arranged by individual systems and facilities, and is not available elsewhere in a single volume.Following an overview of the history of Soviet strategic forces, the book discusses the structure of the political and military leadership in the Soviet Union and Russia, the structure of the Russian military and military industry, nuclear planning procedures, and the structure of the command and control system. It describes the nuclear warhead production complex and the Soviet nuclear weapon development program. It then focuses on the individual services that constitute the so-called strategic triad -- land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, the strategic submarine fleet, and strategic aviation. It presents an overview of Soviet strategic defense, including air defense systems, the Moscow missile defense system, the radar and space-based early warning networks, and the space surveillance system. The book also includes a description of the Soviet nuclear testing program, including information on test sites and on all Soviet nuclear tests and peaceful nuclear explosions. It concludes with a look at the future of strategic nuclear weapons in Russia.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is certainly the best recent book in this field due to its depth of research and solid scholarship. The book will be a critical resource for scholars and policymakers because of its exceptionally detailed, carefully documented, and thorough analysis of the Soviet/Russian nuclear complex and weapons."--Bradley A. Thayer, Department of Political Science, University of Minnesota, DuluthPlease note: Endorser gives permission to excerpt from quote.

"No previous volume matches this book in comprehensive detail not only on the Russian nuclear forces themselves but also on the course of their development and the development of their supporting infrastructure."--Celeste A. Wallander, Director and Senior Fellow, Russia and Eurasia Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, DC

"A veritable treasure trove of information for all students of Russian nuclear weapons and strategic policy questions."--Sidney D. Drell, Professor Emeritus, Stanford University

"An extremely useful volume."--Wolfgang K. H. Panofsky, Director Emeritus, Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, Stanford University

About the Author

Pavel Podvig is a Research Fellow at the Center for Arms Control Studies at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 620 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press; 1st edition (November 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262162024
• ISBN-13: 978-0262162029
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.1 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,087,456 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive and Absolutely Authoritative, December 6, 2001

By 

Geoffrey Forden (Boston MA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces (Hardcover)

Today, Russia's nuclear forces remain the single greatest danger to the security and survival of the United States. However, because of ten years of Russian economic difficulties, too many in Government and the Western public pay far too little attention.

This book represents the best understanding of Russia's strategic forces available outside the Russian military. You can be sure that the people who really want to understand Russia's nuclear complex and their strategic rocket forces have a copy of this book. This is particularly remarkable since the contributors, all Russians, to this comprehensive overview have based their solid analysis solely on publicly available information--publicly available but dispersed over a wide variety of sources--and then used their scientific understanding to present in a thoughtful, authoritative, and most of all useful account.

Open the book to almost any page and you will find useful and important information. For instance, chapter eight presents a table of Russian nuclear tests, including the test's primary goal. This is the only such compellation I have seen and far exceeds similar lists for the United States. Right away you can see that the Soviet Union used significantly fewer tests on making sure their nuclear weapons would not explode accidentally than did the United States. Does that mean their weapons represent a significantly greater risk of accidental nuclear detonation? An interesting question to ponder.

The story behind the book would, perhaps, make even more thrilling reading. While based on information that the Russian government itself made public, recent years have seen an unjustified persecution of the book's authors by the Russian Federal Security Bureau, the successor to the KGB. In fact, one of the contributors is in under arrest (for other work he did) and all the unsold Russian language editions of this book have been confiscated by the Russian government.

Readers in both Russia and the United States who are seriously concerned about nuclear war and peace should read this book.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very technical, but a treasure trove of accurate information, July 29, 2002

By 

Michael T Hoddy (Stirling, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces (Hardcover)

This is not an easy-reading book, but if you desire to know the smaller details of the history, development, design, construction, and strategy of the Soviet and current Russian strategic forces, without conjecture and without fluff, this is your book. If you can or wish to coherently discourse on the design differences between the Soviet R-36 and R-36M2 second stage and other such details, this one's for you. Highly recommended.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly detailed material, November 18, 2003

By 

Javier Cedeño Broce (Panama Panama) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces (Hardcover)

This is an amazing book about the history, design, strategies and current state of the Russian nuclear forces. There was not a single detail I didn't found in this fascinating material. The chapter about the process for veryfing an incoming attack and launching a response is really good.