Russian Nuclear Weapons: Past, Present, and Future

fewer paragraphs about the use of nuclear weapons
and nuclear posture than in the 2000 document. The
doctrine places considerably more emphasis on conventional
forces and in particular on high-precision
assets, communications, command, and control systems,
and other elements in which Russia has been
traditionally behind other major military powers.
Overall, the change in the role of nuclear weapons
appears to be positive, but limited: the missions
remained the same as before, albeit the criterion for
nuclear use was somewhat tightened. The direction of
the trend is similar to that in the United States under
the new administration, but the degree of change is
noticeably smaller. Notwithstanding the fact that the
new strategy will remain in force for at least several
years, one can hardly expect a significant downgrading
of the status of nuclear weapons in the foreseeable
future. They continue to enjoy elite and public support
as a symbol of Russian power and independence
and thus any government that might consider further
downgrading of that component of Russian armed
forces is likely to encounter stiff resistance. Furthermore,
modernization of Russian conventional forces
proceeds at a very slow pace. In the foreseeable future,
concern about conventional forces of the United States
and NATO and, increasingly, of China will remain
high, necessitating continued reliance on nuclear capability.
THE TACTICAL NUCLEAR WEAPONS
PARADOX
Tactical (non-strategic) nuclear weapons (TNW)
enjoy a special and highly controversial place in
Russia’s nuclear policy. They gained visibility in the
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