Nuclear weapons first in Russia's defence policy

Abstract

Marshal Igor Sergeyev's appointment as Defence Minister in May 1997 has been a boost for the military leadership's technocratic element. Together with his like-minded civilian deputy, Andrei Kokoshin, Sergeyev has placed greater emphasis on the importance of bolstering Russia's nuclear arsenal and its still-formidable rocket forces. Little is being done, however, to prevent the further degradation of the country's conventional forces.