Secret Papers: ‘Russia is upgrading

Russia

Secret Documents: “Russia is upgrading nuclear bases”

Joachim Kerpner

Updated 21.59 | Published 21.39

Vladimir Putin. Photo: Alexander Nemenov / AP

Russia is modernizing its nuclear bases, showing secret documents.

– Absolutely unbelievable, says nuclear weapons expert Hans M Kristensen about the fact that journalists were able to find the information openly online.
 

Quick version

• Russia is modernizing its nuclear bases, which includes the construction of new barracks, watchtowers and control centers, as well as the excavation of tunnels.
• Documents revealing details about the bases’ security systems and the lives of soldiers on the bases have unexpectedly been found openly online by Danwatch, despite Russian laws preventing such information from becoming publicly available.
• Nuclear experts believe that the modernization is about updating old systems and does not affect the global nuclear balance.

“After us – silence!”

This is the motto of Russia's strategic nuclear robotic army RVSN, which has over 50,000 soldiers and controls nearly 900 fireable nuclear warheads from bases on the ground.

Two million documents

Now, the Dansish journalism project DanwatchDanwatch has obtained two million documents and drawings from a public Russian database, which show that:

•A large number of new buildings have been erected at nuclear bases across Russia.

•Sometimes bases have been razed to the ground and completely new ones have been built.

•Hundreds of new barracks, watchtowers, control centers and storage buildings have been completed.

•Several kilometers of tunnels have been dug.

            

          

           Nuclear base five kilometers north of Yasnyj. Satellite image taken on  May 27, 2022.

           1 / 2Photo: Google Earth

Satellite images show that the plans in the documents have indeed been implemented in the 2020s. Danwatch has identified several nuclear weapons bases around the city of Yasnyj – 800 kilometers south of the multi-million city of Yekaterinburg – which have undergone extensive modernization in recent years. A zoom in on the bases via Google Earth shows, among other things, new buildings and roads, compared to older satellite images of the same locations.

Security shown in detail

The secret documents describe the security systems at the nuclear weapons bases in detail. Drawings show that the bases are surrounded by triple electric fences, sensors that detect radioactivity and earthquakes, explosion-proof doors and windows, reinforced concrete buildings, and alarms with 

magnetic contacts and infrared sensors.

          

          

        

Drawing showing the newly constructed building at the nuclear weapons base 15 kilometersnorth   of Yasnyj. 

1 / 3Photo: Facsimile

The documents also provide an insight into the lives of nuclear soldiers on the bases. It is clear where they eat, sleep, go to the toilet and that they play chess. In addition, they have signs on the walls with calls such as “Stop! Turn around! Forbidden zone” and “Rules for shoe care”.

Found on the internet

The documents could be found online, despite the fact that the Russian parliament in 2020 passed a law that would tighten the rules for military procurement.

At the same time, the Russian Ministry of Defense created a new database for the procurement of military equipment that would be closed to the public and only accessible to controlled Russian companies. Despite this, Russian military companies have continued to upload sensitive documents to a public database.

The satellite images show that the nuclear base has undergone a major change in just a few years. Photo: Google Earth

The public database has gradually become more difficult to access, but Danwatch states that they “using various digital techniques” managed to get in, including by using a network of data servers in Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus.

           

         

          Nuclear weapons base 15 kilometers northeast of Yasnyj. 

          Satellite image   taken on May 14, 2021.

          1 / 2Photo: Google Earth

Colonel: Serious security flaw

After the documents were downloaded by Danwatch, the German magazine Der Spiegel participated in the analysis of the material.

– This is the ultimate intelligence information. Such documents concerning extremely important defense projects should never have become publicly available. They are enormously valuable. The fact that you were able to find them shows that there has been a serious flaw in Russian security procedures, Philip Ingram, former intelligence colonel in the British army, tells Danwatch.

Newly built building at the nuclear weapons base 15 kilometers north of Yasnyj. Photo: Google Earth

Makes them vulnerable

– The information does not reduce the value of the facilities, but it makes them potentially more vulnerable, says Tom Røseth, a teacher at the Norwegian Army Staff College.

Nuclear weapons expert Hans M Kristensen downplays the significance of the armament. He believes that it is primarily a long-neglected modernization of old systems from the Soviet era. According to Kristensen, the modernization does not affect the nuclear balance in the world.

The motto of Russia's strategic nuclear robotic army RVSN is "After us - silence". In Russian: "Posle nas - tishina". Photo: Rvsn