Russian Nuclear Weapons: Past, Present, and Future

heads, instead it is possible to make a transition to
low-yield nuclear warheads that could be installed
on the existing types of cruise missiles.” 13 Burtsev also
implied that Russia’s new nuclear-power attack submarines,
such as the Severodvinsk-class ships, would
“probably” continue to carry TNW. Norris and Kristensen
calculate that the Russian Navy maintains
2,270 operational nonstrategic nuclear warheads, primarily
for use on various types of short-range cruise
missiles. These include nearly 700 warheads for naval
cruise missiles, anti-submarine weapons, anti-air missiles,
or anti-ship torpedoes. 14 These TNWs are stored
on land at various Russian naval bases. Russian crews
regularly rehearse loading these warheads on delivery
systems and launching them. 15
DOCTRINE
On February 5, 2010, the new Military Doctrine of
the Russian Federation was finally published on the
Kremlin website. Despite all the developments of the
past decade, including the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq,
and Georgia, this latest version generally advocated
the same policies as the previous Military Doctrine adopted
in 2000. Notably, the new draft expresses particular
dissatisfaction with NATO, complaining about
the growth of the alliance’s military infrastructure
close to Russia’s border as well as its alleged efforts to
acquire “global functions in contravention of international
law.” 16 The current draft identifies four types of
military conflicts:
• small-scale armed conflicts;
• local wars such as that between Russia and
Georgia in 2008;
• regional wars that can potentially involve many
countries;
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