Nuclear Issues

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The U.S.-Russia Initiative to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism Newsletter: November 2020 - November 2021

| Dec. 10, 2021

 

  • U.S.-Russia Elbe Group Maintains Focus on Threat of Nuclear Terrorism.
  • Former Chernobyl Plant Manager Bryukhanov Dies.
  • Matthew Bunn on Threat to Nuclear and Radiological Transports.
  • On 9/11 Anniversary Russian Officials Call for Resumption of U.S.-Russian CT Cooperation.
  • Experts Weigh in on 9/11 Anniversary.
  • U.S. and Norway Agree to Eliminate All of Norway’s HEU.
  • Two Soviet Nuclear Submarine Reactors Located.
  • Russian Security Council: Terrorists Remain Interested in NBC.
  • IAEA Adopts Resolutions on Nuclear Security, NS Center Planned.
  • Allison on Risk of Mega-terrorist Attack After U.S. Withdrawal From Afghanistan.
  • Arbatov Warns of Enduring Threat of Nuclear Terrorism to Russia in His New Volume.
  • Russia’s New Security Strategy Drops References to CT Partnership With U.S.
  • NNSA’s Non-Proliferation Budget to Decrease in ’22, Provides for US and Russian Visits.
  • Should U.S.-Russian Interaction in Cyberspace Involve CT? 
  • Russia’s NPP Operator Conducts Emergency Preparedness Exercise.
  • Putin and Biden Discuss Terrorist Threat Emanating from Afghanistan, but No Deal.
  • U.S. Experts on Ensuring Access to Neutrons While Reducing Nuclear Terrorism Risks.
  • Beebe Weighs in on U.S.-Russian CT Interaction.
  • Duo Detained for Alleged Attempt to Sell Americium-241.
  • 12th GUMO Guard’s Sentence Upheld.
  • NDAA-Mandated Group to Identify Nuclear Terrorism Risks.
  • Belfer’s MTA Hosts Conference on Lessons of Fukushima and Chernobyl.
  • Russia Withdraws from Uranium Hexafluoride Transportation Deal with U.S.
  • Bell: U.S. Needs to Convince Russia on Contending With Nuclear Terrorism Threat.
  • U.S. and Canada Complete Repatriation of HEU Material.
  • Siegfried Hecker Outlines his Vision of Future for Nuclear Security Cooperation.
  • Hackers Breach U.S. Nuclear Agency.
  • Tobey on Assassinations of Nuclear Scientists and Terrorists.
  • Rosatom Has Checked Nuclear Sites, Following a Tip on Terrorism from U.S.

A Russian Tu-95 bomber, top, is intercepted by a U.S. F-22 Raptor off the coast of Alaska in this photo taken June 16, 2020. (North American Aerospace Defense Command via AP)

North American Aerospace Defense Command via AP

How Do U.S. and Russian Defense Sectors Influence Policies?

Fall 2021

Whenever Washington or Moscow unveils a new weapon, ears in the other capital perk up and analysts try to divine how the new system fits into U.S. or Russian military strategy—not least of all, strategy toward its Cold War-era nemesis. But how often do decisions related to national security arise because of institutional forces only tenuously related to states’ strategic planning? More specifically, how do the countries’ respective defense industries influence policy? The Belfer Center’s Russia Matters project asked two scholars—one American, one Russian—to investigate the latter question. Their articles, published in November, reveal fascinating differences (and similarities) in the way this influence is exercised in countries with vastly different political and economic systems.

Simon Saradzhyan and Natasha Yefimova-Trilling interview former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd about Russia and its relationship with Australia. (Benn Craig)

Benn Craig

- Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

New Russia Matters Website Highlights Facts, Dispels Myths

| Spring 2017

Russia once again dominates headlines, but U.S. expertise on the country is in demonstrable decline. With the launch of its new website, Russia Matters hopes to bring clarity to U.S. citizens following Russia-related news.

Former Mossad Director Tamir Pardo (left) and former CIA Acting Director Michael Morell interact during their discussion of “ISIS, Israel, and Spymasters: A Reality Check” at a Harvard Kennedy School JFK Jr. Forum event.

- Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center Newsletter

Council Adds Global Perspectives to Critical Security Questions

Summer 2016

The annual meeting of the Belfer Center’s International Council in May drew members from around the world for two days of spirited discussion on critical issues ranging from ISIS and cyber threats to Russia and the U.S. economy. The Council members began their two-day meeting by attending a Belfer Center-sponsored JFK Jr. Forum titled “ISIS, Israel, and Spymasters: A Reality Check.” The evening featured a lively debate and discussion between Michael Morell, Belfer Center senior fellow and former deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and Tamir Pardo, former director of the Mossad, moderated by Center Director Graham Allison.

Central Intelligence Agency Director John Brennan discusses the need for intelligence and the CIA at a JFK Jr. Forum moderated by Center Director Graham Allison.

Martha Stewart

- Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center Newsletter

Tackling Issues from Intelligence and Wars to Cyber Governance and Campaign Funding

Summer 2015

“The CIA, more than any other agency, [has been] instrumental in stopping terrorism and bringing terrorists to justice,” Central Intelligence Agency Director John Brennan said during a JFK Jr. Forum at Harvard Kennedy School in April.  “Will we make mistakes in the future? Probably. But the Agency is a wonderful organization and…I am frustrated with its image because it doesn’t comport with reality.”

Managing the Atom's Martin Malin (second from left) speaks at the UN Symposium.

- Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center Newsletter

Symposium Encourages Young Scholars, Fresh Ideas on Nuclear Nonproliferation

| Summer 2015

The Project on Managing the Atom joined the Netherlands government, the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), and the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey in convening a research symposium on the sidelines of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) 2015 review conference. The symposium, Fresh Ideas for the Future, took place on April 28 in the UN headquarters in New York City.

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- Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center Newsletter

Points of Progress

Spring 2015

Our faculty and fellows are immersed in studying and solving some of the world's toughtest policy challenges. Amid that sobering work, they sometimes spot positive developments. We asked them to share these findings in this new feature.

Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Rose Gottmoeller discusses the importance of cooperation on global security issues.

Belfer Center

- Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center Newsletter

U.S.-Russia Conference Aims to Reduce Tensions

Spring 2015

For two days in October, Russian and American experts met at the Belfer Center to discuss the state of U.S.-Russia relations and look for glimmers of hope.

Unfortunately, few were seen. The conflict in Eastern Ukraine is only the most urgent manifestation of a deeply troubled relationship between Russia and the West—in particular the United States. As one Russian participant stated, “We should deal first with the problems that existed even before Ukraine.”

Matthew Bunn (standing, left) and John P. Holdren (right) brief President William Clinton in May 1995 on nuclear security in Russia.

White House

- Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center Newsletter

Q&A: Matthew Bunn

Spring 2015

Matthew Bunn is a professor of practice at Harvard Kennedy School and co-principal investigator for the Belfer Center’s Project on Managing the Atom. Bunn’s research focus is on nuclear theft terrorism, nuclear proliferation, and innovation in energy technology. During the Clinton administration, Bunn served as an advisor to the White House Office of Science Technology Policy, where he played a major role in U.S. policies related to the control and disposition of weapons-usable nuclear materials in the United States and the former Soviet Union. We asked Bunn about the current crisis in U.S.-Russian relations and its impact on nuclear security.