Nuclear Complex: an Historical Perspective

Russia’s internal security agency—the Federal Security Service (FSB)—occupies a critical position with respect to the U.S. nonproliferation and antiterrorism efforts in Russia. It has an important positive role in preventing nuclear terrorism involving Russian nuclear materials and facilities. It also influences U.S.Russian cooperation by controlling its scope, as well as U.S. access to Russian nuclear facilities and personnel and information flows. An effective strategy of nuclear security cooperation with Russia must seek a better understanding of the FSB’s role and modes of operation. It also must identify credible engagement options to make the FSB a helpful partner in the war against terrorism and proliferation, and lessen its resistance to cooperative initiatives. Very little open information is available on the FSB organization and its nuclear missions. By design, it is a highly secretive, clandestine organization. The FSB’s continuing evolution in response to international and domestic changes also makes it a moving target for research. Any open-source analysis is therefore somewhat speculative and is limited in its completeness and accuracy. Given these constraints, this report seeks to explore the FSB’s role in nuclear security. It begins by briefly reviewing the history of the FSB involvement in the Russian nuclear weapon program. It then discusses the FSB’s structure and its major nuclear missions, including counterintelligence, information protection, and antiterrorism. Finally, the report considers options for and challenges of nuclear security cooperation with the FSB.