Most visitors go to Yakutsk, where winter temperatures hover around 70 below zero, to learn about permafrost or diamonds. But a group of foreign academics and journalists went there this month to engage in two days of discussions with Russian policy experts who revealed that their country is becoming more dependent — not less — on nuclear weapons for its security.
As the country slashes its bloated and expensive conventional forces, we were told, the only way to maintain influence in world affairs (and presumably to guard against a Chinese invasion of mineral-rich but thinly populated Siberia) is to have a smaller but more effective, permanent nuclear arsenal.
Obama’s calls for the United States and Russia to lead the way toward global denuclearization are “idiotic,” said one tart-tongued Russian defense analyst. “They strengthen those in Russia who said you can’t believe him — that he is laying traps for us.”…
“Internal struggles over how we will restructure our forces will be much more important than any negotiations,” said an authoritative Russian military man, who stated that Russian strategic arms divisions are being consolidated from 54 to 12 while the role of tactical nuclear arms is being significantly upgraded. “Our goal is reasonable, not minimal, deterrence.”
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