Russia and weapons of mass destruction
The Soviet Union conducted 715 nuclear tests between 1949 and 1990, creating a vast legacy of radioactive contamination and strategic capability. The first test occurred in 1946 at the Moscow test reactor F-1, followed by the construction of the Mayak site in Chelyabinsk-40. This facility produced weapons-grade plutonium from 1948 to 2010, with production peaking consistently between 1967 and 1989. Three sites within the Russian SFSR generated approximately 145 tons of this material, while other facilities like the Siberian Chemical Combine in Tomsk-7 and the Mining and Chemical Combine in Krasnoyarsk-26 added further capacity. The final plutonium production reactor in Russia is believed to have shut down in 2010, though Mayak continues operating two reactors for tritium and industrial radioisotope production.
When the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, its nuclear arsenal was distributed across four new republics: Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Kazakhstan. In May 1992, these four states signed the Lisbon Protocol, agreeing that Russia would inherit the status of a nuclear state while the others joined as non-nuclear states. Ukraine agreed to transfer its weapons to Russia in exchange for security guarantees provided by Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States under the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances. China and France also issued statements supporting this memorandum. By 1993, the former secretary of the Russian Security Council Alexander Lebed claimed that 100 suitcase-sized nuclear weapons were unaccounted for, sparking international concern over loose nukes.
Russia currently possesses approximately 5,459 nuclear warheads and 1,718 deployed missiles, making them one of only four countries wielding a complete nuclear triad. Their strategic forces include roughly 1,254 intercontinental ballistic missiles, 992 submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and 586 cruise missiles or bombs delivered by Tupolev Tu-160 and Tu-95 bombers. The Federation of American Scientists estimates that Russia holds about 1,700 active deployed strategic nuclear warheads, matching the United States closely. Six nuclear missile fields operate across Kozelsk, Tatishchevo, Uzhur, Dombarovsky, Kartalay, and Aleysk, while twelve nuclear-powered submarines patrol from three naval bases at Nerpich'ya, Yagel'Naya, and Rybachiy.
In March 2018, President Vladimir Putin announced several new classes of nuclear weapons during an annual state-of-the-nation address. These included the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle capable of traveling at twenty times the speed of sound, and the RS-28 Sarmat super-heavy thermonuclear armed intercontinental ballistic missile developed since 2009. The Sarmat can carry up to ten heavy warheads or fifteen lighter ones, designed to defeat anti-missile systems. In 2015, information emerged regarding the Status-6 Ocean Multipurpose System, a nuclear torpedo codenamed Kanyon by Pentagon officials. This weapon is designed to create tsunami waves up to five hundred meters tall and radioactively contaminate enemy coastlines with cobalt-60.
Following the Korean War, the Soviet Union transferred nuclear technology and weapons to the People's Republic of China as an adversary of the United States and NATO. Ion Mihai Pacepa noted that Khrushchev's nuclear-proliferation process began in April 1955 when the Kremlin consented to supply Beijing a sample atomic bomb and help with its mass production. Russia remains one of the five Nuclear Weapons States under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, which it ratified in 1968 as the Soviet Union. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, a number of Soviet-era nuclear warheads remained on the territories of Belarus, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan.
In September 2022, Putin announced the mobilization of Russian forces and threatened nuclear retaliation against the West if Russia's territorial integrity was threatened. On the 21st of February 2023, Putin suspended Russia's participation in the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty with the United States, stating that Russia would not allow US and NATO inspections of its nuclear facilities. By the 25th of March 2023, he announced that Russia would be stationing tactical nuclear operations in Belarus. On the 14th of June 2023, Belarusian President Aleksander Lukashenko stated that Belarus had started taking delivery of nuclear weapons during a TV interview with Russian state channel Russia-1. On the 10th of December 2024, Lukashenko confirmed that Belarus was hosting dozens of Russian warheads.
The Soviet biological weapons program operated from the 1920s until at least September 1992, making it the world's largest, longest, and most sophisticated offensive program. At its peak, the program employed up to 65,000 people across various facilities including mobilization centers at Omutninsk, Penza, and Pokrov. Research took place in Moscow, Stirzhi, and Vladimir, while testing occurred at Rebirth Island in the Aral Sea where monkeys were tied to posts and exposed to airborne weapons. The program violated the Biological Weapons Convention which the Soviet Union signed on the 10th of April 1972, and ratified on the 26th of March 1975.
In 1979, spores of anthrax accidentally released from a military facility in Sverdlovsk resulted in an outbreak where ninety-four people became infected and sixty-four died over six weeks. This incident revealed the existence of the covert program to the outside world. In 2022, the Russian Ministry of Defense began construction of a new massive facility at Sergiev Posad-6 that hosted bioweapons research during Soviet times. The site belongs to the 48th Central Scientific Research Institute and featured biological security labs visited by a delegation led by Sergei Shoigu. As of 2024, the United States Department of State assesses that Russia maintains an offensive biological weapons program and is in violation of its obligations under Articles I and II of the BWC.
Russia declared an arsenal of 39,967 tons of chemical weapons in 1997, consisting of blister agents like Lewisite and mustard gas, as well as nerve agents including Sarin, Soman, and VX. The country signed the Chemical Weapons Convention on the 13th of January 1993, and ratified it on the 5th of November 1997. Destruction efforts were delayed due to the August 1998 financial crisis, leading to extensions for deadlines originally set for 2002, 2004, and 2007. By October 2011, Russia had destroyed 57% of its stockpile, though the final deadline was not met until the 27th of September 2017 when the OPCW announced complete destruction of the declared stockpile.
Despite this declaration, Russia has been accused of using Novichok nerve agent in multiple high-profile poisonings. In March 2018, former GRU agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter were poisoned in Salisbury, United Kingdom by a chemical agent confirmed to be Novichok. In August 2020, Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny was poisoned in Tomsk, Russia by the same substance. During the invasion of Ukraine starting the 24th of February 2022, Russian forces reportedly used chemical weapons 465 times through December 2023, usually as tear gas grenades. On the 17th of June 2025, Ukrainian Battalion K-2 destroyed a Russian BM-21 Grad launcher and intercepted radio traffic where soldiers warned units that rockets were loaded with chemistry.
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Common questions
How many nuclear tests did the Soviet Union conduct between 1949 and 1990?
The Soviet Union conducted 715 nuclear tests between 1949 and 1990. This testing created a vast legacy of radioactive contamination and strategic capability.
When did Russia suspend its participation in the New START treaty with the United States?
Russia suspended its participation in the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty on the 21st of February 2023. President Vladimir Putin stated that Russia would not allow US and NATO inspections of its nuclear facilities following this suspension.
What is the current number of nuclear warheads held by Russia?
Russia currently possesses approximately 5,459 nuclear warheads. The Federation of American Scientists estimates that about 1,700 active deployed strategic nuclear warheads remain within the country.
Which dates mark the ratification of the Biological Weapons Convention by the Soviet Union?
The Soviet Union signed the Biological Weapons Convention on the 10th of April 1972 and ratified it on the 26th of March 1975. The program operated from the 1920s until at least September 1992 despite these international obligations.
On what date did the OPCW announce the complete destruction of Russia's declared chemical weapons stockpile?
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons announced the complete destruction of the declared stockpile on the 27th of September 2017. Russia had declared an arsenal of 39,967 tons of chemical weapons in 1997 before beginning destruction efforts.