Hmm. Before criticizing Russian nucleat security - please find all the H-bombs that you lost.
In May 2000, two students at a training center that prepares guards for nuclear weapons facilities were expelled because they had failed their drug tests.
That same month, the Russian Defense Ministry started using officers instead of enlisted men for guard duty while transporting nuclear warheads because of seven incidents in just one month when sentries had left their posts.Strange matters. "training center that prepares guards for nuclear weapons facilities"? My colleague served in special internal troops corps, in fact - guarding "special cargos". He has no idea of what this "training center" is.
"Russian facilities housing nuclear materials typically receive low funding, lack trained security personnel, and do not have sufficient equipment for securely storing nuclear materials," the council said.Great. Absolutely eye-opening. I want this "council" to try entering the Physical Problems Institute and it's secured part. I speak about it because I had a chance to work there (networking), it's an institute across the fence from ours. They'll be surprised. Even in our institute, that deals mostly with radiobiology (i mean with radioactive stuff) - the whole building occupied by research units using radioactive materials is guarded as a vital defence object. Funding is quite fine when it somes to security issues.
Most of the "evidence" of "stealing" radioactive material I have heard (and believe me, I heard enough because I work in this organisations of Academy of Science) is anecdotal. Mostly - things that are told at the table after halflitre per nose.
As for "weapon grade materials" - it's a pure nonsence. JFYI, US government "bought" Russian stock of weapon-grade plutonium, many tons, for some strangely small amount of money, IIRC - $800M. This story is covered by darkness, many people involved in it died of some interesting reasons or were simply assassinated... Maybe it's where all this crap comes from... Our beloved party and government made so many interesting things that it deserves to be hanged on display on lamp-posts all over Gorky street (Tverskaya now). I'll not be surprised if one day we'll see enemy troops "securing" our nuclear arsenal.
