The Russian Nuclear Shield from Stalin to Yeltsin (St. Antony's Series)

238 Pages·2000·2.05 MB·English

by  Jennifer G. Mathers

The Russian Nuclear Shield
from Stalin to Yeltsin
Jennifer G. Mathers
St Antony’s Series
General Editor: Richard Clogg(1999– ), Fellow of St Antony’s College, Oxford
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The Russian Nuclear Shield
from Stalin to Yeltsin
Jennifer G. Mathers
Lecturer
Department of International Politics
University of Wales
Aberystwyth
in association with
ST ANTONY’S COLLEGE, OXFORD
First published in Great Britain 2000 by
MACMILLAN PRESS LTD
Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and London
Companies and representatives throughout the world
Acatalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 0–333–73742–3
First published in the United States of America 2000 by
ST. MARTIN’S PRESS, LLC,
Scholarly and Reference Division,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010
ISBN 0–312–23578–X
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Mathers, Jennifer G., 1964–
The Russian nuclear shield from Stalin to Yeltsin / Jennifer G. Mathers.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0–312–23578–X
1. Nuclear weapons—Soviet Union. 2. Nuclear weapons—Russia
(Federation) 3. Soviet Union—Military policy. 4. Russia (Federation)–
–Military policy. 5. Deterrence (Strategy)—History—20th century. I. Title.
UA770 .M3877 2000
355.02'17'0947—dc21
00–031128
©Jennifer G. Mathers 2000
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made
without written permission.
No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written
permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
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Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P0LP.
Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to
criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
The author has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with
the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained
forest sources.
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Printed and bound in Great Britain by
Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham, Wiltshire
To John and Mathew
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Contents
Acknowledgements viii
List of Abbreviations ix
Introduction 1
1 ‘Massive Retaliation’ and Soviet Ballistic Missile Defence,
1953–7 3
2 ‘We Can Hit a Fly in Outer Space’,
1957–62 17
3 From Cuba to Détente, 1962–68 37
4 Missile Defence and Arms Control Diplomacy,
1968–72 65
5 Missile Defence and the Decline of Détente,
1972–9 88
6 The Second Cold War and the Threat of SDI,
1980–5 107
7 ‘New Political Thinking’ and Ballistic Missile
Defence, 1985–91 125
8 Missile Defences and Yeltsin’s Russia 151
Conclusion: The Kremlin’s Missile Defence Policy during
the Cold War and Beyond 175
Notes and References 181
Bibliography 207
Index 222
vii
Acknowledgements
Many people have contributed to this book through their advice, guid-
ance, and support. This project began as an M.Phil. thesis, inspired by
a remark made by Lynn Davis, then of the International Institute for
Strategic Studies, in a seminar about SDI at All Souls College, Oxford.
Professor Robert O’Neill encouraged me to tackle Soviet missile defence
policy and supervised the M.Phil. thesis. Dr Alex Pravda supervised the
D.Phil. thesis and urged me to turn it into a book. Christoph Bluth and
Bill Tompson were both generous with their time and advice about
source materials. Many thanks are due to the staffs of the Bodleian
Library, the British Library, the Library of Congress, the International
Institute for Strategic Studies, the Royal Institute of International
Affairs, the Russian State Library and the Conflict Studies Research
Centre at Sandhurst. Dr Harry Shukman kindly introduced me to
General Dimitrii Volkogonov who, together with his assistant Gennadi
Chernobrovkin, helped me find people in Moscow who were also inter-
ested in missile defences. A grant from the Ilchester Fund and study
leave from the University of Wales, Aberystwyth enabled me to do
research in Russia. With great efficiency and good humour Paul
Holtom tracked down some of the material cited in Chapter 8. My
D.Phil. examiners, Dr Roy Allison and Dr James Sherr, provided helpful
comments on the thesis and suggestions for turning it into a book.
Colin McInnes read draft chapters and gave much good advice. I would
like to thank Frank Cass and The Journal of Strategic Studiesfor permis-
sion to quote from my article, ‘“A Fly in Outer Space”: Soviet Ballistic
Missile Defence during the Khrushchev Period’, vol. 21, no. 2, June
1998, pp. 31–59, much of which is reproduced in Chapters 1, 2 and 3.
My thanks go to all those named above, who have helped make this
book better than it would otherwise have been. All the errors which no
doubt remain are mine alone.
JENNIFERG. MATHERS
viii
List of Abbreviations
ABM Anti-Ballistic Missile
ALCM Air-Launched Cruise Missile
CDSP Current Digest of the Soviet Press
CFE Conventional Forces in Europe
CIA Central Intelligence Agency
CIS Commonwealth of Independent States
DOSAAF Voluntary Society for Cooperation with the Army,
Aviation and the Navy
GPALS Global Protection Against Limited Strikes
ICBM Intercontinental Ballistic Missile
IMEMO Institute of World Economy and International Relations
INF Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces
IOC Initial Operating Capability
KGB Committee of State Security
LPAR Large Phased-Array Radar
MAD Mutual Assured Destruction
MBFR Mutual and Balanced Force Reductions
MEMO Mirovaya Ekonomika i Mezhdunarodnie Otnoshenie
MFN Most Favoured Nation
MIRV Multiple Independently-Targeted Reentry Vehicle
MRV Multiple Reentry Vehicle
NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
NCA National Command Authority
PRO Anti-missile Defence
PVO Air Defence Forces
SAC Strategic Air Command
SALT Strategic Arms Limitation Talks
SAM Surface-to-Air Missile
SDI Strategic Defense Initiative
SLBM Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missile
SRF Strategic Rocket Forces
SShA SShA: Ekonomika, Politika, Ideologiya
START Strategic Arms Reduction Talks
TMD Theatre Missile Defence
US United States
USSR Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
ix