For information on SLBM test launches, START-accountable launchers
and warheads, and other SSBN-related developments, please see the SSBN
Force subsection of the Russian
Nuclear Weapons section.
10/9/2003: GERMANY ALLOCATES €300
MILLION FOR DISMANTLEMENT AND REACTOR STORAGE ASSISTANCE
On 9 October 2003, Minatom and the
German Ministry of Economics and Labor
signed an agreement in Yekaterinburg on the provision of assistance for the safe disposal of
nuclear-powered submarines in Northwest Russia. For more information, see
the 10/9/2003 entry in the
Naval Foreign Assistance Developments
section.
10/8/2003: NERPA CONTRACT WITH
GERMANY DRAWN UP FOR STORAGE SITE
On 8 October 2003, Nerpa Shipyard
Deputy Director for International and Commercial Affairs Oleg Yerin reported that a
group of German specialists investigating a possible contract between Germany and the Nerpa Shipyard for the construction at
Sayda Bay of a regional storage site
for reactors removed from decommissioned nuclear submarines had completed their
on-site work. Negotiations had been underway for seven months and, as planned,
the October 8 meeting resulted in the text of the contract--which has not yet
been finalized--being drawn up.
8/30/2003: SSN K-159 SINKS IN BARENTS SEA
On 30 August 2003, the Project 627A nuclear attack submarine K-159 sank in
the Barents Sea. The decommissioned nuclear submarine, in service from 1963 to
1988, was being towed from the Gremikha Naval Base to
Nerpa
Shipyard, in Snezhnogorsk. For details on this incident, please
see the 8/30/2003 entry in the Gremikha file.
8/28/2003:
ATOMFLOT OFFICIAL ARRESTED FOR NUCLEAR MATERIALS TRAFFICKING
Russian authorities have arrested Alexander Tyulyakov, Atomflot deputy
director for administrative issues, for attempting to sell radioactive
materials. The arrest was first made public on 28 August 2003 by the Murmansk
newspaper Nord-Vest Kuryer, and announced internationally four days later
by the Norwegian environmental organization Bellona Foundation. For details,
please see the 8/28/2003 entry in the
Atomflot file.
6/10/2003: ATOMFLOT TEMPORARY SPENT
FUEL STORAGE SITE BUILT
Construction of a temporary spent fuel storage facility at Atomflot was
reported completed in June 2003. The site will not be commissioned until
September 2003, however, after a final inspection has been undertaken by a
government commission. For more information, see the
6/10/2003 entry in the
Atomflot file.
4/28/2003: ZVEZDOCHKA RECEIVES EXPORT LICENSE
On 28 April 2003, the Head of the Committee for Cooperation on Defense
Technology with Foreign Countries, Mikhail Dmitriyev, announced that
Zvezdochka
Shipyard and three other Russian defense sector enterprises had been
granted permission independently to service and export spare parts for previously delivered
military equipment. Previously, any defense technology export had
to go through Rosoboroneksport, the state export agency. Earlier, the
Rubin Design Bureau was given the same privileges. On 16 September 2002,
President Vladimir Putin issued the directive granting the Commission the right
to administer such export licenses. [For more information, see the
Export
Control Developments section.]
4/19/2003: NEW CONSULTATIVE COUNCIL TO INCLUDE SHIPYARD DIRECTORS
The mayor of Severodvinsk has introduced a new council of chairmen, which is
composed of the directors of the Sevmash,
Zvezdochka, Arktika, and Polyarnaya Zvezda Shipyards as well as the commander of the Belomorsk
Naval
Base along with a number of other enterprise directors. The council is
purely consultative.[1,2]
4/12/2003: ROBBERY OF SUBMARINERS' WAGES AVERTED
On 12 April 2003, Pravda Severa reported that the robbery of 800,000
rubles (about $25,500 as of 12 April 2003) was averted when submariners
came to the aid of an officer who was carrying the
collective wages of the SSBN Bryansk's crew. The officer was being
attacked by a 35-year-old man from Severodvinsk. According to Pravda
Severa, this was just the latest of numerous criminal incidents in this
city.
3/21/2003: TAX PENALTIES WAIVED FOR SEVERODVINSK
SHIPYARDS
Penalties for overdue tax payments have been waived for the companies associated with
the Russian
State Center for Atomic Shipbuilding (GRTsAS), which include the
Sevmash and Zvezdochka Shipyards. These companies have been unable to pay taxes as the Russian
government had not made payments or paid late for shipyard orders. The
accumulated tax penalties totalled approximately 300-370 million rubles (about
$9.6-11.8 million as of 21 March 2003). [1,2,3]
3/19/2003: SEVERODVINSK COURT CONVICTS 11 FOR 2001 NUCLEAR SUBMARINE
RUDDER BLADE THEFT
On 19 March 2003 the Severodvinsk city court convicted 11 members of a
criminal group of stealing a nuclear submarine rudder blade from the
Sevmashpredpriyatiya military wharf on 16 July 2001.
For more information, see the 3/19/2003 entry
in the Severodvinsk file.
3/7/2003: SPONSORSHIP ASSISTANCE RECEIVED IN SEVERODVINSK
On 7 March 2003, Moskovskaya pravda reported that the Moscow city government has provided assistance to
Sevmash on several occasions. For more information on
this assistance, see the 3/7/2003 entry in the
Zvezdochka file.
3/5/2003:
PSKOV NUCLEAR SUBMARINE DAMAGED IN FIRE
A fire broke out on the afternoon of 5 March 2003 at the Safonovo ship
repair facility, damaging the outer hydroacoustic rubber
layer of the Sierra I-class attack submarine K-336, or Pskov. For
more information, see the 3/5/2003 entry in
the Severomorsk file.
2/11/2003: TESTING OF ONSHORE
FACILITY FOR UNLOADING SPENT SUBMARINE FUEL SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED IN SEVERODVINSK
According to an 11 February 2003 Interfax report, the testing of an onshore
facility at Zvezdochka Shipyard to unload spent nuclear fuel from submarines has
been successfully completed. For more information, see the
2/11/2003 entry in the
Zvezdochka file.
1/16/2003: REPAIRS ON YEKATERINBURG COMPLETED
Interfax reported on 16 January 2003 that
repairs to the Delfin-class [NATO name 'Delta-IV'] ballistic missile nuclear
submarine (SSBN)
Yekaterinburg, undertaken at the Zvezdochka shipyard over the
past four years, have been
completed. For more information, see the
1/16/2003 entry in the
SSBN Developments file.
11/12/2002: NUCLEAR FUEL FROM
KOLA PENINSULA DECOMMISSIONED SUBMARINES TO BE UNLOADED BY 2007
On 12 November 2002, Interfax reported that current plans call for all decommissioned submarines
stored on the Kola Peninsula to be defueled by 2007, at a rate of 20
submarines every year.
10/21/2002: SEVEROMORSK MAY
LOSE HEAT AND HOT WATER
On 21 October 2002, MurmanNews.Ru
reported that Severomorsk naval base
might have its heat shut off. In order to save fuel, the city administration
ordered the temperature in apartment buildings lowered. Severomorsk Mayor Vitaliy Voloshin
was unable to answer a question regarding how much
fuel was left in the city heat and power station. However, he said that the city expects a new
shipment of fuel soon. According to city authorities, the heating crisis was
caused by "monopolist" power producers who had raised prices for oil from 2,000 to
4,000 rubles (from about $63 to $126 as of 21 October 2002) per ton. As a result, the main Northern Fleet base might be left
without heat and hot water. A similar situation occurred in the early 1990s when
the entire Severomorsk region was almost "frozen out" due to fuel shortages
at the city heat and power station.
4/26/2002: KURSK ARRIVES
AT NERPA FOR DISMANTLEMENT
On 26 April 2002, the Kursk
submarine arrived at the Nerpa Shipyard, where it is
expected to be dismantled in the fall of 2002. Before scrapping
begins, the seven P-700 Granit
[NATO name SS-N-19 'Shipwreck'] cruise missiles remaining on board will be removed from the
Kursk's damaged launch tubes. Then the
submarine will be defueled and the vessel's hull will be scrapped.[1] It is
unclear how this work will be financed as the Nerpa
Shipyard has not yet received any money for the dismantlement. In addition, according to the
Murmansk Oblast legislative assembly, the
Russian Ministry of Defense still owes the shipyard in
Roslyakovo about 150 million rubles (about
$4.8 million as of 26 April 2002) for prior clean-up work done on the Kursk.[2]
3/22/2002: KURSK
COMPONENTS MAY BE INSTALLED ON OTHER SUBMARINES
On 22 March 2002, Sevmash
Deputy Director Vladimir Chuvakin said
that the Rubin Design Bureau had proposed that the Kursk nuclear submarine, currently docked at
Roslyakovo, not be completely
dismantled. Certain components, such as the rollers and
various other gears located at the stern of the ship, are fit to be used to
repair other submarines. In addition, the navy has not ruled out returning 15
of the 22 Granit cruise missiles removed from the Kursk to active duty
on another ship.
3/19/2002:
NIZHNIY NOVGOROD NUCLEAR ATTACK SUBMARINE TO RETURN TO ACTIVE SERVICE IN
THE NORTHERN FLEET
On 19 March 2002, the
press service of the Nizhniy Novgorod Oblast administration announced that
according to Admiral Gennadiy Suchkov, commander of the Northern Fleet, the
Kondor-class [NATO name 'Sierra II'] SSN Nizhniy Novgorod would not be
dismantled and would return to the Northern Fleet. Since December 2000, when the submarine
arrived at the Nerpa Shipyard, the navy has been
considering dismantling the
submarine. Suchkov also said that
repair of the Nizhniy Novgorod had begun.
3/15/2002:
YURIY DOLGORUKIY NEARS COMPLETION
On 15 March 2002, Northern Fleet
Commander Gennadiy Suchkov said that the strategic nuclear-powered ballistic
missile submarine Yuriy Dolgorukiy will join the Northern Fleet
upon its completion at Severodvinsk, scheduled for 2002.[1] The submarine is nearing completion with
the aid of the city of Moscow, which has extended credit to assist in the
final construction.[2] The Yuriy Dolgorukiy is the first
of the Borey series, Russia's fifth generation of nuclear-powered submarines.
This class will be slower than the Typhoon
class, but the power of its missile armaments will be considerably greater.
The Borey series is also favored because of its low noise output, and it is
intended to be the mainstay of the Russian Navy in the 21st century. Naval
Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Kuroyedov claims that the Russian Navy requires
12-15 strategic nuclear submarines and 50 general purpose nuclear submarines.
There are currently four nuclear-powered submarines under
construction at Severodvinsk.[1,3] For more information on Russian SSBN
construction developments, see the
SSBN Developments file in the
Russian Weapons section.
2/28/2002: NORTHERN FLEET SHIPYARDS NOT PAYING EMPLOYEES
On 28 February 2002, the Russian TV station NTV Mir
reported that workers at Northern Fleet shipyards in Murmansk,
Polyarnyy, and Roslyakovo had not received their wages since October 2001.
The Sevmorput Shipyard in Murmansk
is in a particularly difficult situation: the facility owes workers about 40
million rubles (about $1.3 million as of 28 February 2002). Management of the Roslyakovo shipyard, whose employees
have not received pay
for work on the Kursk
submarine, had to take out a bank loan to pay workers one month's salary.[1] On the same day, Russian Navy spokesman Igor Dygalo said that the requisite funds had been sent to Northern Fleet
shipyards, including 10 million rubles for Roslyakovo (almost $323,000 as of 28 February 2002).[2]
10/23/2001: KURSK AWAITS INSPECTION
TEAMS
On 23 October 2001, Russian Prosecutor-General Vladimir Ustinov announced the completion of the
operation to raise the sunken Kursk submarine.[1] The Kursk was
lifted from the bottom of the Barents Sea on 8 October 2001,[2] and on 10 October
2001, the submarine arrived at the Safonovo
Ship Repair
Facility (SRZ-82) nera Severomorsk.[3] On 21
October 2001, the submarine was positioned in the PD-50 floating dock.[4]
After drying out, the submarine will be inspected by several investigation
teams of the Main Military Prosecutor's Office. Twenty-two P-700
Granit [NATO name SS-N-19 'Shipwreck'] cruise missiles will be unloaded from the submarine
in Roslyakovo. Later, the submarine will be transferred to the PD-42 floating dock
and towed to the Nerpa Shipyard in Snezhnogorsk, where it will
be defueled and dismantled.[5]
10/18/2001: SEVERSTAL SUBMARINE SUCCESSFULLY
LAUNCHES SLBMs
On 18 October 2001, the Northern Fleet Akula-class [NATO
name 'Typhoon'] SSBN Severstal, commanded by Captain Aleksandr Bogachev,
conducted a
test launch of two SLBMs in the White Sea. According to Russian Navy spokesperson Igor
Dygalo, the missiles' warheads
arrived at the Kura testing range on the Kamchatka Peninsula according to
plan.
9/28/2001: TYPHOON SUBMARINE ON PATROL IN BARENTS SEA
On 28 September 2001, Interfax reported that according to an unidentified source in the Northern Fleet,
the Severstal,
an Akula [NATO name 'Typhoon'] class SSBN, left Zapadnaya
Litsa Naval Base for a combat patrol mission in the Barents Sea.
8/6/2001: NORTHERN FLEET GAINS A NEW SPONSOR
On 6 July 2001, the web site Press-tsentr.ru reported that the
Northern Fleet command had agreed to accept Ulyanovsk Oblast Governor
Vladimir Shamanov's offer to sponsor a Northern Fleet SSBN. The oblast will provide social benefits for
the crew and help repair the submarine. The submarine will be called the Simbirsk
(Ulyanovsk's former name).
6/26/2001: ATTEMPTED SALE OF PALLADIUM OXYGEN-GENERATING CARTRIDGES PREVENTED
On 26 June 2001, Agentstvo Zhurnalistskikh
Rassledovaniy reported that an
unemployed person had been arrested in Murmansk for attempting to sell two
oxygen-generating cartridges containing 125g of palladium each. According to an agreement
between the seller, named Litvin, and an unidentified buyer, the cartridges would be
sold for $200 each.[1] Litvin is a resident of Roslyakovo, a town near
Severomorsk,
just north of the Safonovo Ship Repair
Facility (SRZ-82). Investigators believe that the cartridges might have been stolen from the ship repair facility.[2]
6/20/2001: LIQUID RADIOACTIVE WASTE PROCESSING
FACILITY OPERATIONAL
On 20 June 2001, a liquid radioactive waste
processing facility at Atomflot began test operations. The facility has the
capacity to
process all of the liquid radioactive waste that has accumulated in Murmansk Oblast nuclear
facilities as a result of nuclear submarine dismantlement.[1] It is expected
to process 5,000m3 of liquid radioactive waste annually. The project,
called the Murmansk Initiative, started in December 1994 and cost $4.5
million.[2] It was completed jointly by the US Environmental
Protection Agency, Brookhaven
National Laboratory, the Norwegian
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Russian Ministry
of Atomic Energy, additional Russian agencies, and scientists from all
three countries. The
facility was granted
permission for one year of experimental operation.[1] (For
information on a similar facility at Zvezdochka, see the 10/19/2000
entry in the Zvezdochka section.)
6/2001: MILITARY COURT SENTENCES OFFICERS FOR
THEFT OF PALLADIUM OXYGEN-GENERATING CARTRIDGES
In June 2001, the Severomorsk garrison court
convicted three Ostrovnoy Garrison officers for stealing and selling FK-P
oxygen-generating filter cartridges,
which contain about 130g-140g of palladium each. The group included garrison commander
Captain Aleksandr Kupchenko, UFSB senior
representative Captain Aleksandr Okladnikov, and seaman Vladimir Nani.
Between spring 1999 and March 2000 the group stole 135
canisters worth about 10.8 million rubles (over $370,000 as of 29 June
2001). The canisters were sold in Murmansk for $400 each. The thieves
received prison sentences of three-and-a-half to four-and-a-half years. For
more information, see the 4/17/2000 entry
in the Gremikha section.
5/15/2001: THIEVES DISMANTLE NUCLEAR-POWERED
LIGHTHOUSE RADIATION PROTECTION SYSTEMS
On 15 May 2001 during a check of local lighthouses, three radiation
sources emitting about 200 roentgens per hour were discovered near the town
of Kandalaksha, Murmansk Oblast. An investigation revealed that in late April
four unemployed men searching for nonferrous metals disassembled the radiation protection systems of three Northern Fleet
lighthouse
generators at Kandalakshskiy Bay. They discarded the radioactive generators
in several locations and then sold the lead generator covers at a local shop for 5,000 rubles (about $170 as of 15 May
2001).[1] All of them received high doses of radiation and two were
hospitalized in the intensive care section of a local hospital. Northern Fleet
and Kola NPP radiology experts
announced that there was no
immediate radiation danger to Kandalaksha residents; the radiation sources posed health risks only in
the immediate vicinity of the lighthouses.[1,2] A television report noted
that an area extending several
kilometers around each lighthouse was cordoned off due to radiation
levels reaching 30,000 times ambient levels.[3] On 10 June 2001, one
nuclear generator was put in a special container and sent to Mayak for
dismantlement. The removal of the radiation source had to be done manually, thus
exposing volunteer Northern Fleet officers to high radiation levels; the whole operation had to be precisely timed to prevent
any one officer
from receiving too much radiation. All of the officers have been nominated for
governmental awards to recognize their courage.[4]
5/7/2001: NORTHERN FLEET SSN IN ACCIDENT
On 23 April 2001, the Russian newspaper Versiya
reported that on 14 April 2001 a Shchuka [NATO name 'Victor III'] nuclear submarine
had a mishap in the Barents Sea. The submarine was forced to surface and was
later towed to a harbor by the Russian Navy.[1] On 24 April Igor Dygalo,
head of the Northern Fleet press service, refuted the Versiya report
saying that the submarine was towed temporarily to port as part of a military
rescue exercise and that the submarine was again at sea.[2] Also on 24
April, Norwegian TV2
showed the submarine drifting at sea. Jan Espen
Lien, spokesperson for the North Norway Defense Command, confirmed that steam and exhaust fumes
surrounded the Shchuka and that it
was later towed to shore.[3] On 7 May 2001, Versiya reported that Igor Dygalo
later admitted that the submarine had experienced problems in its turbine
compartment, which had forced it to the surface and had caused it to drift for several
hours.[4]
5/7/2001: GROUP HACKS INTO NORTHERN FLEET
SECRET COMMUNICATION LINES
On 7 May 2001, the Moscow newspaper Versiya
reported that during summer 2000 Northern Fleet headquarters received
instructions over secret communication lines from Moscow headquarters ordering
the preparation of all animal-drawn transport for inspection. The Northern Fleet
attempted to make preparations but the inspection never came. It turned out
that the instructions were sent by a group of hackers, who had deciphered the
Northern Fleet communications code. According to experts cited by Versiya,
deciphering the code
is not a very difficult task because the encrypted information is
transmitted over unprotected communication lines and breaking the code
itself presents a technical problem that can be solved within a week.
5/4/2001: MORDOVIYA SPONSORING CRUISER ADMIRAL
USHAKOV
On 4 May 2001, Regions.ru reported that in late
April 2001 a delegation from Mordoviya, a Russian republic approximately 500km
east of Moscow, participated in the 20th anniversary celebration of the
nuclear-powered battle cruiser Admiral Ushakov in Severodvinsk.
The ship is awaiting repairs
at Zvezdochka, but the government is
unable to provide the necessary funding. Mordoviya is unofficially
sponsoring the cruiser; 38 Mordovian conscripts are serving on the ship. During the visit, the crew received a minivan and gifts worth 100,000
rubles (almost $3,500 as of 4 May 2001).
4/7/2001: FEDERAL DEBTS TO THE NORTHERN FLEET
RISE
According to the Murmansk Oblast press service, as
of 7 April 2001 the federal government owed the Northern Fleet 1.3 billion
rubles (over $45 million as of 7 April 2001) in salaries and other payments to
personnel, a 260% increase over the previous month. The debt
increase has been caused by insufficient federal funding, changes in the payment
system, and court decisions regarding previous salary nonpayments.
4/4/2001: OFFICIALS PLAN TO IMPROVE RADIATION
SAFETY IN MURMANSK OBLAST
On 4 April 2001, Krasnaya zvezda reported
that Northern Fleet Commander Vyacheslav Popov, Murmansk Oblast Governor
Yuriy Yevdokimov, Deputy Minister of Atomic Energy Valeriy Lebedev, and
directors of the Kola Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences and enterprises
dealing with nuclear materials signed an agreement on cooperation for nuclear
and radiation safety. The agreement is aimed at creating infrastructure for
dealing with radioactive waste and spent fuel, such as construction of a permanent
storage facility for radioactive waste and reactor compartments from nuclear
submarines. A coordination committee, created as a result of the agreement, will
also work to set up an automatic radiation control
system to monitor the territory of Murmansk Oblast.
3/23/2001: PROBLEM OF KOLA SOLID RADIOACTIVE WASTE
ADDRESSED
For more information, please see the 3/23/2001
entry in the Naval
Radioactive Waste Developments file.
3/22/2001: POLYARNINSKIY SHIPYARD TO RECEIVE NEW RADIATION
MONITORING SYSTEM
For more information, please see the 3/22/2001
entry in the Foreign
Assistance Developments file.
3/2/2001: SUBMARINE DEFUELING SPEEDS UP
On 3 March 2001, the Murmansk administration
informed Interfax that
14 decommissioned submarines had been defueled during 2000 under the federal program "Nuclear and
Radiation Security in Russia for 2000-2006." According to the local
authorities, four submarines were defueled in 1998, six in 1999. Plans
call for defueling 16 in 2001. Existing plans call for eventually defueling about 20
submarines a year; at this rate all submarines could be defueled by 2007.
2/5/2001: RUSSIA MAY TRANSPORT MOX FUEL FOR JAPAN
On 5 February 2001, Aleksandr Ushakov, deputy chief of the
Transportation Ministry's Northern Seaway Department, said
that Russia might start transporting MOX fuel produced from
Japanese spent fuel by the United Kingdom and France to Japan over the
Arctic route. He also noted that for these plans to become reality, a
Russian-Japanese accord that would allow Russia to handle Japanese
reprocessed plutonium would be required.
12/4/2000: MORE FUEL THEFTS HIT THE NORTHERN
FLEET
On 4 December 2000, Lenta.ru reported that the
Northern Fleet Prosecutor's office had solved a case involving the theft of one million rubles (almost $35,000 as of 4 December
2000) worth of fuel. Sergey Panasyuk, head of the Northern Fleet
prosecutor's investigation department, said that a group consisting of six persons stole 590t of fuel.
Among the group members was one warrant officer
who received 5,000 rubles (about $180 as of 4 December 2000) for
his assistance in stealing the fuel. According to Panasyuk, during the last
two and a half
years over 6,000t of Northern Fleet fuel has been stolen. He
also said that because of mafia influence on the courts only three of the 24
people who stood trial during the last three years on charges of stealing
the fleet's fuel received adequate sentences.
11/11/2000: NORTHERN FLEET IN DEBT FOR HEAT
According to the Severomorsk city administration, the Northern
Fleet owes the city 60 million rubles (over $2.1 million as of 11 November
2000) for heat.
10/12/2000: STATE OWES NORTHERN FLEET $13 MILLION
According to the Murmansk Oblast administration press office, as of 12 October 2000
federal authorities owed the Northern Fleet 359 million rubles (almost
$13 million as of 12 October 2000). Almost half of that debt, 180 million
rubles (almost $6.5 million as of 12 October 2000), has been owed since 1999. The rest of the debt consists of unpaid salaries to the
fleet's military staff and civilian enterprises. At the same time, the Northern
Fleet owes the city of Severomorsk 60 million rubles (over $2.1 million as of
15 November
2000) for heat alone (see the 11/11/2000 entry
in this section).
10/2/2000: PM-12 NUCLEAR FUEL TRANSFER SHIP SECURITY SYSTEM MODERNIZED
On 2 October 2000, the US Department of Energy (DOE) announced
that modernization of security systems on the PM-12 service ship,
based at Nerpa Shipyard,
had been completed.
The ship conducts refueling for nuclear submarines and icebreakers. The
upgrade improved protection against theft or diversion of nuclear
materials aboard the ship.[1,2] In 1999, a similar modernization was completed on
PM-63,
based in Severodvinsk.
One more service ship is scheduled for security enhancement. The work is being
done
as part of cooperation between the DOE and the
Russian Federation.[1]
7/19/2000: EU CONSIDERING NORTHERN FLEET RADWASTE STORAGE PROJECT
For more information, please see the 7/19/2000
entry in the Foreign
Assistance Developments section.
4/17/2000: FORMER OSTROVNOY MILITARY INTELLIGENCE
HEAD CHARGED WITH THEFT OF AIR FILTER CARTRIDGES
For more information, please see the 4/17/2000
entry in the Gremikha file.
12/16/99: SAFONOVO SHIP REPAIR FACILITY WORKERS
ON STRIKE
For more information, please see the 12/16/99
entry in the Severomorsk file.
12/99: VICTOR II NUCLEAR SUBMARINE
DEFUELED AT NERPA SHIPYARD BY IMANDRA
For more information, please see the 12/1999
entry in the Northern Fleet:
Facilities: Atomflot file.
9/99: CAPTAIN STEALS PALLADIUM FROM AIR FILTER
CARTRIDGES ON THE PANTERA
For details, please see the 9/99
entry in the Developments section of the Gadzhiyevo
Naval Base file.
8/8/99: PROSECUTOR'S REPORT REVEALS EXTENSIVE
CRIMINAL ACTIVITY IN NORTHERN FLEET
Following the events of 6 August 1999 when five seamen
were killed and two were wounded at the Gremikha
Naval Base (please see the 8/6/99
entry), prosecutors conducted an investigation in the Northern Fleet
and discovered multiple crimes, including racketeering and theft of military
equipment. The report further reveals that since the beginning of
1999, approximately 20 crimes were committed on the aircraft carrier Admiral
Kuznetsov alone. The racketeering has involved senior sailors
collecting fines from the newer sailors for the "nonfulfillment" of impossible
tasks. In turn, the newer sailors have resorted to stealing
navy property, military hardware, and even weapons. In other cases,
well-organized groups, including officers, senior sailors, and conscripts,
have stolen components of the silver and zinc batteries in stored combat
torpedoes at Gadzhiyevo Naval Base.
According to Center TV, former Northern Fleet Commander-in-Chief Admiral
Oleg Yerofeyev covered up crimes such as this one to maintain good statistics.
(Please see the 1/26/99 entry below for details on
the theft of precious metals from a Northern Fleet submarine reactor at
Vidyayevo.
For details concerning the theft of californium-252 and mercury at the
Atomflot
facility, please see the 7/13/99
entry in that file.)
8/6/99: TWO SAILORS GO ON SHOOTING SPREE AT GREMIKHA
For details, please see the 8/6/99
entry in the Developments section of the Gremikha
Naval Base file.
6/5/99: PROSECUTOR RELEASES
MORE DETAILS ON 1998 SUB SHOOTING
The Northern Fleet military prosecutor's office declassified
the criminal case against Aleksandr Kuzminykh, the 19 year-old sailor who,
on 11 September 1998, shot and killed eight seamen in an incident aboard
an Akula-class SSN docked at the Gadzhiyevo
Naval Base. (See also the 9/11/98 entry.)
Kuzminykh's submarine, the Vepr, was docked at Gadzhiyevo next to
another Akula-class SSN, the Leopard, where one person should
have been guarding each submarine. However, due to personnel shortages,
the naval command decided to post only one guard at a time on the dock
between the submarines. In the incident, Kuzminykh struck the guard
on the head, scuffled with an officer, obtained the guard's assault rifle,
shot the guard, and shot at but missed the officer. Once aboard the Vepr,
Kuzminykh
shot five sailors in the second compartment and two more in the first compartment,
where the torpedoes are located. He turned on the fire extinguishing
system, which released Freon into the third compartment, where 30 sailors
were located. An alarm signaled the sailors to evacuate. Because
Freon is poisonous, no one could pass through and reach Kuzminykh in the
torpedo compartment. Kuzminykh then threatened to blow up the Vepr's
ammunition. He piled all the available flammable material (paper,
wooden boxes, oily rags, etc.) beneath the torpedo warheads. Kuzminykh
died while attempting to dismantle an oxygen-generating respirator canister,
which exploded and inflicted a fatal head wound. Ironically, this
event occurred one day after a special operations group from the Murmansk
Oblast FSB arrived in Gadzhiyevo to conduct exercises in neutralizing terrorists
who had seized a nuclear-powered submarine. Experts agree that a
fire beneath the torpedoes would have led to the explosion of all the submarine's
ammunition, which would have destroyed the Vepr, neighboring submarines,
and naval barracks at the base, as well as the town of Gadzhiyevo itself,
not to mention the greater consequences of destroying the nuclear reactors.
Although the small-arms arsenal in any motorized rifle company is constantly
guarded and protected by alarms, Navy Shipboard Regulations adopted in
1978, Navy Commander-in-Chief orders, and Ministry of Defense rules do
not stipulate constant guard of submarine torpedo compartments. Since
the incident, Gadzhiyevo regulations require that guards work in pairs.
6/99: NORTHERN FLEET DECLARES
Y2K READINESS DESPITE LINGERING OBSTACLES
According to an article by the Bellona Foundation,
the Northern Fleet has stated that it is fully prepared to face the year
2000. After the Russian government issued a special resolution
concerning the Y2K issue in May 1998, the Northern Fleet began checking
its systems and reportedly established a working group at its
Severomorsk
headquarters. The Northern Fleet has not received any funding to
resolve Y2K problems and awaits Moscow's approval of a proposal to obtain
funds by selling the valuable metals in its obsolete computer hardware.
No estimate of the total costs to resolve the Y2K issue is available.
However, some Navy officials maintain that $500,000 and five to six months
of work are needed just to ensure Y2K compliance on the Fleet's local computer
network. According to the Northern Fleet's automated command systems
expert, Vladimir Kiselev, the combat control system, which is integrated
into the Russian strategic forces global network, is not linked to calendar
dates and requires human input for launch. However, efforts to test
and verify the supposed built-in redundancy of the system are limited by
the lack of funds. Combat operation systems aboard vessels also require
human input, whereas satellite navigation systems are the most vulnerable
to Y2K problems. Northern Fleet officials expect that 30 percent
of all satellite navigation systems on warships will stop functioning after
31 December 1999. According to the Bellona Foundation, the strained
relations between the US and Russia have limited joint projects to address
the Y2K issue. US defense officials indicate that although the Russian
military is not as dependent on computer command and control systems and
Russian systems have built-in redundancy, Russia still does not seem fully
cognizant of the scope of its Y2K problems.
4/23/99: TEN ARRESTED FOR STEALING TORPEDO PARTS
For details, please see the 4/23/99
entry in the Gadzhiyevo Naval
Base section.
4/99: THEFTS OF MILITARY PROPERTY INCREASING
According to the Northern Fleet prosecutor, every
seventh property crime in 1997 involved the theft of military property,
and in 1998, the frequency increased to every fifth crime. Losses
totaled more than 50 million rubles (approximately $2 million as of 23
April 1999), and 377 individuals were prosecuted. The crimes, especially
those targeting non-ferrous metals and electronic equipment, inflict large
costs to the Northern Fleet and negatively affect fleet combat readiness.
In January 1999, a sailor at the Vidyayevo
Naval Base was arrested for stealing instruments containing palladium
from the control console of the auxiliary nuclear reactor aboard a decommissioned
submarine. (Please see the 1/26/99 entry below
for details.) In 1995, the Severomorsk
military court sentenced Lieutenant Captain Kurochkin and Warrant Officer
Timoshenko to imprisonment for stealing radioelectronic devices from combat
consoles, which caused malfunctions in additional ship systems including
the weapons guidance system.
1/26/99: SAILOR SELLS NUCLEAR
SUBMARINE'S REACTOR PARTS
At the Vidyayevo Naval Base in Murmansk
Oblast, on 26 January 1999, a sailor serving on a nuclear attack submarine
stole 24 rings of palladium-vanadium wire that form an integral part of
the control system for the submarine's auxiliary reactor. For more information,
see the 1/26/99 entry in the
Vidyayevo section.
1/20/99: YELTSIN APPOINTS NEW COMMANDER OF NORTHERN
FLEET
On 20 January 1999, in accordance with a presidential
decree, Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy Vladimir Kuroyedov presented
Vice-Admiral Popov as the new Northern Fleet commander.[1,2,3] A
large part of Vice-Admiral Popov's career has been connected with the Northern
Fleet.[3] Beginning in 1993, he was the commander of a flotilla of
nuclear submarines in the Northern Fleet, and in December 1996, Popov became
the director of Northern Fleet headquarters after a stint as deputy commander
of the Baltic Fleet.[1]
12/13/98: KRAVCHENKO SPEAKS ON "NORTHERN
STRATEGIC BASTION"
In December 1998, Admiral Viktor Kravchenko, chief
of staff of the Russian Navy, discussed with Interfax details of the role
of the "Northern Strategic Bastion," which consists of the Northern Fleet's
strategic nuclear submarines (SSBNs) and the conventional military forces
of the Northern Fleet and the Leningrad military district. Kravchenko
said that although President Yeltsin first voiced the idea in summer 1998
during a period of naval exercises, the Russian Navy's Main Staff drafted
the concept of a strategic bastion long ago. In essence, the "bastion"
provides for the concentration of nuclear strategic submarines and supporting
forces in the Arctic seas. (See the 8/27/98
entry and the 5/7/98 entry
for further information.) The transfer of the most modern ships, including
the Petr Velikiy missile cruiser and the Admiral Chabanenko
anti-submarine ship, to the Northern Fleet is targeted at implementing
the "bastion" plan. Kravchenko, however, refuted reports indicating
that strategic submarines from the Pacific Fleet had been transferred to
the Northern Fleet. He said that it is necessary for Russia to maintain
forces everywhere in order to defend its widespread interests but that
"an inter-theater maneuver of forces" is also envisaged in the event of
a threat to Russia's security.
11/11/98: CONDITION CRITICAL FOR NORTHERN
FLEET SHIPYARDS
A Russian Duma commission developing proposals for
Russian shipyards in Murmansk and Arkhangelsk regions noted in recent years
a marked increase in the number of outmoded vessels and combat equipment
in the Russian Navy that are in need of repair and modernization.
After examining the situation, the commission concluded that a "critical
situation" has developed at the naval ship repair yards in the north as
a result of funding problems. Workers have not been paid for a long
time, and no money for the shipyards has gone into the budget. As
a result, social tension is on the rise. The report also noted that
further financial degradation, which committee members attributed to the
IMF, might further complicate problems with START II ratification.
Members of the commission have decided to send their report to the Russian
government in the hopes that their proposals will influence the state defense
order and the 1999 federal budget.
9/98: NORTHERN FLEET SUBMARINE TRANSFERS
TO PACIFIC FLEET
The multipurpose submarine Tomsk, an Oscar
II-class SSGN, has been transferred from the Northern Fleet to the
Pacific Fleet, where it will join a group of ground, air, and sea forces
that are stationed on the Kamchatka peninsula.[1] During testing,
the Tomsk completed an Arctic tour that covered 3500 miles in ice-covered
waters. The Tomsk was transferred to strengthen the Pacific
Fleet; over the past eight years, approximately one third of the military
ships in the Pacific Fleet have fallen into disrepair.[2] The Tomsk
has the capability of monitoring the entire eastern coastline of Russia.[3]
9/11/98: SAILOR KILLS EIGHT,
COMMITS SUICIDE ON NUCLEAR SUBMARINE
On 11 September 1998, a young Russian sailor serving
on a Bars (NATO designation Akula-class) nuclear attack submarine
commandeered a rifle and killed eight crew members [1,2,3,4] before turning
the weapon on himself.[2,3] Aleksandr Kuzminykh, a 19 year-old conscript
from St. Petersburg, obtained the rifle after murdering a sentry posted
on the submarine.[4,5] Kuzminykh then shot and killed seven more crew members
[1,2,3,4] before barricading himself in the torpedo room, where he threatened
to blow up the submarine.[7] After failed negotiations, the Russian Federal
Security Service (FSB) stormed the torpedo room and discovered the body
of Kuzminykh, who had apparently committed suicide.[2,3] The submarine,
part of the Russian Navy's Northern Fleet, was docked at a facility in
Skalisty (also known as Gadzhiyevo),
located near Murmansk and Severomorsk.[3,4] The nuclear reactor on the
submarine was not in operation at the time of the incident.[4] Although
the submarine is capable of carrying torpedoes equipped with nuclear warheads,
none were aboard at the time of the incident.[8] Kuzminykh's motive remained
unclear, although some sources pointed to a history of psychiatric problems.[1,5]
8/27/98: KUROYEDOV DETAILS
"NORTHERN STRATEGIC BASTION" PLAN
At a press conference in Moscow on 27 August 1998,
Russian Navy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Vladimir Kuroyedov discussed details
of the "Northern Strategic Bastion," designed to guarantee Russia's security
in the north and northeast. According to Kuroyedov, the Navy has
developed a warning system, based on decades of hydrographic and hydrologic
research on the Northern seas. Kuroyedov denied reports that the
strategic submarines of the Pacific Fleet would be transferred to the Northern
Fleet and asserted that Russia will continue to maintain two strategic
submarine forces in the Arctic and the Pacific. (See the 5/7/98
entry for more information.)
6/25-27/98: NAVAL COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF ASSESSES
NORTHERN FLEET DURING VISIT
On a three-day visit to the Northern Fleet, Russian
Navy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Vladimir Kuroyedov evaluated the combat
readiness of its troops and vessels and met with representatives from ship
repair yards.[1,2] Wage arrears at shipyards have created a tense
social situation. The total federal debt to Russian military ship
repair yards has reached 62 million rubles (approximately $10 million).
Moreover, the Navy received less than 50 percent of its allocated funds
during the first half of 1998, which has gone towards debt repayment, as
opposed to new service orders for the shipyards. As a result of the
financial situation, the shipyards have managed to complete only nine percent
of the Northern Fleet's necessary repairs. Kuroyedov assured workers
that the Navy would honor payments for all repairs on the ships Admiral
Kuznetsov and Petr Velikiy.[1]
5/7/98: "NORTHERN STRATEGIC
BASTION" BLUEPRINTS NORTHERN FLEET'S FUTURE
Navy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Vladimir Kuroyedov
directed Northern Fleet exercises in April 1998 as part of the "Northern
Strategic Bastion" program, which provides a blueprint for Russian geostrategic
security and stability in the post-Cold War era and recogizes the importance
of the Kola Peninsula region in Russia's strategic security. A total
of 15 surface ships, 12 submarines, and 14 auxiliary ships participated
in the exercises. Noting that the Northern Fleet must provide strategic
nuclear deterrence and defend Russia's interests throughout the world's
oceans, Andrey Kokoshin's original idea for the "Northern Strategic Bastion"
received full support from the General Staff and sailors in 1993.
Financial difficulties facing all of Russia's armed forces will likely
affect the ability to implement completely the "Northern Strategic Bastion"
plan. Despite the funding problems, between 1994 and 1997, the Navy
commissioned five to six multipurpose Bars (Akula-class)
and Antey (Oscar II-class) nuclear submarines. These
submarines, along with the nuclear cruiser Petr Velikiy, which increases
the Northern Fleet's combat effectiveness by 17 percent, and the aircraft
carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, are responsible primarily for defending
the security of Russia's SSBNs.
5/6/98: MINATOM AND MINISTRY OF DEFENSE OFFICIALS
VISIT NORTHERN FLEET NUCLEAR SITES
In early May 1998, First Deputy Minister of Defense
Nikolay Mikhaylov and Minister of Atomic Energy Yevgeniy Adamov, along
with 13 Russian Duma deputies, seven members of the Russian Academy of
Sciences, six general constructors, shipbuilders, and representatives of
the leadership of the Russian Navy, toured several Northern Fleet nuclear
sites, including Murmansk Oblast's Gremikha and
Andreyeva
Bay, and Sevmash and Zvezdochka
in Severodvinsk. After seeing
the deplorable conditions in Severodvinsk, Mikhaylov thanked Arkhangelsk
Governor Anatoliy Yefremov for paying particular attention to the hardships
the military-industrial complex is enduring and marveled at the success
Severodvinsk has had in preserving its key positions and modern shipbuilding
technology, despite these difficulties and budget limitations. Chair of
the Duma Defense Committee Aleksey Arbatov added that Russia can only preserve
those enterprises that provide the maximum return for the defense of the
country. During the trip, the officials also discussed the federal
programs for spent nuclear fuel storage and nuclear submarine dismantlement,
which lack financing and fall under the responsibility of many government
agencies, making coordination difficult. The Ministry of Defense
(MOD) is considering transferring these duties to the Ministry of Atomic
Energy (Minatom), which would free the MOD from a responsibility that is
absolutely unrelated to its usual functions, according to Mikhaylov.
Citing the precedent of Minatom and MOD coordination on the front end of
the naval fuel cycle, Adamov added that MOD funds need to be liberated
for purposes other than keeping decommissioned submarines afloat.
Adamov proposed using Russian technology, specialists, and financing to
construct interim dry spent fuel storage containers that will be capable
of storing the fuel safely for 50-60 years until it is reprocessed.
According to Adamov, Russia's closed fuel cyle allows Russia to reuse isotopes
in fuel for fast breeder reactors. Mihaylov also noted that this
visit to the Northern Fleet facilities has strengthened the arguments for
ratifying START II, and Arbatov said that the Duma will likely vote on
START II in June 1998. (For more information on the START II ratification
debate, please see the START II
ratification developments file.)
3/30/98: NORTHERN FLEET REPAIR YARDS FACE DIFFICULT
SITUATION
Because the 1998 state budget for the Northern Fleet
shipyards has been reduced to a minimum and commercial projects have not
produced the expected results, the repair yards for Russia's Northern Fleet
are in dire financial straits. The Nerpa
Shipyard and Polyarninskiy Shipyard
lost several economic privileges as a result of the Duma's 20 February
1998 amendments to the Law on Special Economic Status for Closed Cities.
In addition, the 1997 dissolution of the Ministry of Defense Industry left
the Nerpa Shipyard, Sevmash,
and Zvezdochka with little
support in Moscow to lobby for the delivery of federal funding obligations.
These three shipyards became subordinate to the Ministry of the Economy,
while Sevmorput, Polyarninskiy, and Safonovo
remain under the Ministry of Defense. Moreover, funding and the rate
of submarine dismantlement will likely decrease during 1998, as shipyard
managers struggle to establish contacts in the incoming government to support
dismantlement and radioactive waste disposal funding.
9/97: ASSOCIATION OF RUSSIAN
REGIONS FOR THE SUPPORT OF THE NORTHERN FLEET FORMED
In the fall of 1997, an Association of Russian Regions
for the Support of the Northern Fleet was created. Oblasts that become
members of the association may, for instance, sponsor an individual submarine
and its crew. Vologda Oblast sponsors several Northern Fleet ships,
including the Vepr, an Akula-class SSN based in Gadzhiyevo.
Cherepovets, a city in Vologda Oblast, has paid to refurbish the crew's
dormitory. The best draftees from Cherepovets are sent to serve on
the
Vepr.[1] Stavropol Kray is also a member of the Association,
and sponsors the Krasnoye Znamya Nuclear-powered Submarine Formation, based
in Gadzhiyevo. The kray has provided Formation submariners with everything
from televisions to musical instruments, as well as trips to Stavropol
spas, an automobile, and housing for discharged submariners. Stavropol
Kray sends draftees to submarines based in Gadzhiyevo, and also hosts a
regional branch of the All-Russian Movement for the Social Support of the
Fleet.[2] Sverdlovsk Oblast sponsors the
Verkhoturye and Yekaterinburg
submarines. Moscow 's Yuzhniy Okrug sponsors the Daniil Moskovskiy,
while Minatom sponsors Zapadnaya Litsa
submariners.[3]
6/5/97: OFFICIALS DISCUSS CARGO SUBMARINES
Officials discussed plans to use Typhoon-class
SSBNs for transporting cargo along the Northern sea route from the Kola
Peninsula to Chukotka at the conference "Conversion and the North" in St.
Petersburg, in early May 1997. According to preliminary estimates,
it will take up to five years to recover the costs of re-equipping the
submarines, approximately $50 to $60 million.
10/13/96: GAS CUT OFF TO ZAOZERSK BASE
The Murmansk gas company cut the supply to the Northern Fleet's largest
submarine base in Zaozersk. The company swore not to resume gas supply
until the base repays the 3 billion-ruble debt.
7/18/96: RUSSIA LAUNCHES NEW TOMSK SSGN
A new nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine (SSGN),
the Tomsk, was assembled at the Northern Machine-Building Enterprise
(Sevmash) and launched in Severodvinsk.[1,2] More than 800 Russian
facilities participated in building the Tomsk.
6/1/96: NORTHERN FLEET "PRIMARY" MEANS OF DETERRENCE
Northern Fleet Commander Admiral Oleg Yerofeyev stated that Russia's primary
means of deterrence is its SSBN force. In an interview with a correspondent
for the Northern Fleet's newspaper, Na strazhe zapolyarya, Yerofeyev
said that although the numbers of submarines had decreased, the existing
weapons in service enabled the fleet to efficiently carry out its tasks.
Consequently, permanent SSBN combat patrols near the shores of other countries
had become unnecessary. First Deputy Commander in Chief of the Russian
Navy Admiral Igor Kasatonov agreed that the Northern Fleet continued to
remain "the pride and reliable shield" of Russian naval power. However,
Kasatonov regretted the overall reduction in the Russian Navy's forces
and assets, claiming that it undermined the combat potential of operational
groupings of strategic, ASW, and strike forces, reported Nezavisimoye
voyennoye obozreniye. According to Kasatonov, the six years of "perestroika"
(1986-1991) and the following five years of "radical reforms" (1992-1996)
together resulted in nearly 50 percent reduction of the fleet in active
service and more than a 60 percent reduction in naval aviation forces.
The manning level of ship crews dropped to 65-70 percent, and from 22 to
75 percent of the flotillas, squadrons, naval bases, divisions and brigades
were disbanded. The fleet can only afford to keep one or two nuclear
submarines on combat duty. The repair services at the fleet's disposal
amount to only 6 percent of its needs. Out of 240 ships that need repairs,
only 16-17 can be serviced, and repairs take up to 12 months.
5/7/96: FIRST DEPUTY PM MEETS WITH MURMANSK OFFICIALS
First Deputy Prime Minister Oleg Soskovets announced at the meeting with
the Murmansk Oblast administration that in the near future the Russian
government will eliminate its debt towards the Northern Fleet. The debt
reached a level of 388 billion rubles in the first quarter.
3/26/96: NORTHERN FLEET HOLDS LARGEST EXERCISES SINCE SOVIET
COLLAPSE
Izvestiya reported that in March 1996 the Northern Fleet held naval
exercises on a scale larger than any since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The exercises reportedly involved 32 surface combatants, including the
new aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, and 22 submarines, including
SSBNs. Air support for the exercises included 49 sorties with coordination
and control provided by A-50 Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS)
aircraft. As Izvestiya noted, the show of naval strength was held
in the Barents Sea and Norwegian Sea just before President Yeltsin was
to visit Norway (to discuss issues including demarcation of the continental
shelf in the region), and just after a NATO military exercise in the region.
2/17/96: NORTHERN FLEET FUNDING TO DROP FURTHER
According to Nikolai Kalistratov, director of the Zvezdochka shipyard,
government financing of the nuclear fleet has been reduced by a factor
of six since 1990. In 1996, it is expected to decrease by nine times and
will constitute 10 percent of the required budget. Such drastic cuts will
inevitably lead to maintenance problems with strategic nuclear submarines
whose average age will be 17 years in the year 2000. The Typhoon system
will suffer the most as it carries 1,200 warheads out of the total 2,500
deployed on SSBNs.
12/95: NORTHERN FLEET TAKES OVER KOLA POWER GRID
The Administration of the Northern Fleet has taken all the facilities of
the Kola energy grid under its temporary control to prevent future energy
cut-offs. Earlier in the year, the Kola power authorities cut power to
the Northern Fleet due to its 20 billion ruble debt to the energy industry.
Four decommissioned nuclear submarines neared a nuclear accident as a result
of the power cut-offs. Navy officers evaded the accident "by putting a
gun to the head of the person responsible for the power switch."
9/23-24/95: ELECTRICITY SHUTDOWN NEARLY CAUSES ACCIDENT
One of the Northern Fleet submarines came close to an accident when the
cooling system shut down due to the cut-off of electricity. The electricity
was shut off as a result of the Fleet's debt to the energy industry. Four
other decommissioned submarines with operational reactors have had accidents
caused by similar situations.
9/21/95: KOLENERGO FORCED TO RETURN POWER TO GADZHIYEVO BASE
The Kola Peninsula power company, Kolenergo, shut off power to the Gadzhiyevo
Northern Fleet submarine base due to $4.4 million in unpaid electrical
bills. The cut-off caused the reactors of at least one, and maybe as many
as four, decommissioned submarine to overheat. Admiral Oleg Yerofeyev,
Commander of the Northern Fleet, finally forced the company at gunpoint
to restore power to the base, preventing a meltdown of the submarines'
reactors. Armed patrols were deployed to the Kola Peninsula and Arkhangelsk
regional power substations to avoid any additional cut-offs.
Last updated 29 January 2004
Comments or questions? Contact Cristina Chuen at MIIS
CNS: Cristina.Chuen@miis.edu
This material is produced independently for NTI
by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the
Monterey Institute of International Studies and
does not necessarily reflect the opinions of and has
not been independently verified by NTI or its directors, officers,
employees, agents. Copyright © 2010 by MIIS.
HOME | CONTACT US | SITE MAP
