Russia and weapons of mass destruction
Russia possesses one of the two largest stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction in the world (the United States possess the other). Russia declared an arsenal of 40,000 tons of chemical weapons in 1997 and is said to have around 19,000 nuclear power weapons stockpiled in 2002 with perhaps only 8,500 of them operational. Russia ratified the Geneva Protocol on April 5, 1928 with reservations. The reservations were later dropped on January 18, 2001.
Nuclear Weapons
Russia is said to have around 19,000 nuclear power weapons stockpiled in 2002 with perhaps only 8,500 of them operational. Russia is one of the five "Nuclear Weapons States" (NWS) under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which Russia ratified (as the Soviet Union) in 1968.
In 2002, the United States and Russia agreed to reduce their stockpiles to not more than 2200 warheads each in the SORT treaty. In 2003, the US rejected Russian proposals to further reduce both nation's nuclear stockpiles to 1500 each.
Biological Weapons
Russia signed the Biological Weapons Convention on April 10, 1972 and ratified the treaty on March 26, 1975.
Chemical Weapons
Russia signed the Chemical Weapons Convention on January 13, 1993 and ratified it on November 5, 1997. Russia declared an arsenal of 40,000 tons of chemical weapons in 1997.
Russia met its treaty obligations by destroying 1% of its chemical agents by the Chemical Weapons Convention's 2002 deadline but requested technical and financial assistance and extensions on the deadlines of 2004 and 2007.
