The nuclear factor has once again begun to play a significant role in international relations
Autumn is usually a busy season in the nuclear sphere, and 2025 was no exception. In October, NATO held its Steadfast Noon nuclear exercises, followed by the U.S. Global Thunder drills and Russia’s strategic nuclear forces exercises. Developments did not end there: against the backdrop of these exercises, Russia
announced
tests of the
Burevestnik
nuclear-powered cruise missile and the
Poseidon
nuclear-powered...
... conventional operations despite potential defeat; continue tactical nuclear exchanges; or eliminate the adversary by employing strategic nuclear weapons, something that guarantees annihilation by a retaliatory strike.
Aleksey Arbatov:
Nuclear Doctrine and Strategic Stability
This paradigm's inherent danger lies in fostering NATO's illusion of impunity—the conviction that Russia would refrain from nuclear weapons use due to fears of inevitable retaliation. Such perceptions render gradual conventional ...
... The issue gained even greater urgency following the victory of Republican candidate Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential election in November. These developments will have a tangible impact on the prospects for nuclear arms control, the arms race, strategic stability and the likelihood of nuclear war.
Nuclear weapons in Russia’s Military Doctrine
The Stabilizing “Basic Principles”: Moscow Reduces Options for Pre-Nuclear Escalation. Russia’s leading experts on the new Russia’s nuclear ...
... reflects the increased range of dangers and threats characteristic of the time of an armed confrontation in Europe, defining the role of nuclear weapons in meeting these challenges. It is hardly possible to assess the doctrine's impact on the state of strategic stability in its regional and global dimensions in isolation from developments in the situation. For example, the test launch of the new Oreshnik system capable of carrying nuclear weapons in combat conditions on November 21 “highlighted” ...
... regime of transparency and predictability in the development of strategic forces was agreed upon. The Treaty thus reduced, through structural restrictions, the mutual possibility of a first (disarming) nuclear strike, having laid the foundation for strategic stability for many years to come.
This was a testament to the great intellectual contribution of the START I negotiations: within its framework, in 1990, the concept of strategic stability, enshrined in the Joint Statement of the Soviet Union ...
... exporter and importer. A Moscow-New Delhi-Beijing "fertilizer partnership" could shape the future of international trade of this important commodity.
Ivan Timofeev:
Eurasian Security Structure: From Idea to Practice
Trilateral consultations on strategic stability would not only contribute to world peace and security, but also build trust and mutual confidence between Beijing and New Delhi. Other security related problems to be discussed in the trilateral format could include the challenge of ...
... and are only likely to increase in its aftermath, both Russia and the U.S. may want, at some point, to return to some forms of recurrent bilateral interactions. Although Russia has rejected the recent U.S. proposal to
resum
e systematic dialogue on strategic stability and arms control, both states should continue to seek other opportunities—whether as a track-1.5 format or a less formalized dialogue between officials—to begin bridging the gap between conceptual understandings of military capabilities,...
... media—undergoes transformations that would have driven crazy the great Publius Ovid, an ancient Roman poet with his immortal
Metamorphoses
, which have fascinated Europeans for two millennia.
The threat of nuclear war
Aleksey Arbatov:
The Ukrainian Crisis and Strategic Stability
Contrary to the common perception that nuclear weapons should exclusively “serve to deter aggression and prevent war,” nuclear war is more likely to happen today than ever before, nearly eight decades after the tragedy of Hiroshima ...
... overwhelming majority of observers until February 2022. Indeed, it seemed unlikely from the perspective of the past thirty years. And yet, it materialized. Maybe it is time to break down the habitual scheme of things?
Aleksey Arbatov:
The Ukrainian Crisis and Strategic Stability
Regardless of the motives behind this proposal, it requires rational reflection, considering the fundamental importance of the issue. After all, we are talking about nuclear weapons, which are associated not just with a breakdown but ...
... regular meeting of the bilateral expert Russian-American dialogue between the Institute of the USA and Canada of the Russian Academy of Sciences (ISCRAN) and CISAC was held.
The discussion focused on the impact of missile defense systems development on strategic stability, as well as possible coordinated actions of the member states of the "Nuclear Club" (P5) to reduce the risks of nuclear war. The event was hosted by Sergey Rogov, Academic Director of RAS Institute for the U.S. and Canadian ...
