President Vladimir Putin issued a decree (ukaz) that signed into law a new strategic document: “The Foundations of Russian Federation State Policy on Nuclear Deterrence (“Osnovi Gosudarstvennoy Politiki Rossyskoy Federatsii v Oblasty Yadernogo Sderdzivanya”). The adopted planning text describes the reasons Russia requires a robust nuclear deterrence capability, the possible threats it hopes to avoid by threatening to use nuclear weapons against unfriendly foreign states and their alliances (namely, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization – NATO), and the possible scenarios for using its nuclear arsenal. Unlike the United States, which regularly publishes a “Nuclear Posture Review” (“NPR”), the “Foundations on Nuclear Deterrence” has been publicly issued for the first time, though similar documents were apparently put together previously – the last one reportedly in 2010 – but remained classified.
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(FILES) A picture taken on April 20, 2010, shows Russian Iskander ballistic missile launcher rolling during a rehearsal of a military parade in Alabino outside Moscow.
