Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) greets troops during a visit to the Strategic Missile Forces regiment in Ivanovo Oblast on December 14, 2006.
Photo: Dmitry Azarov
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Russian President Checks Out Ballistic Missiles
In the woods of Russia's Ivanovo Oblast yesterday, Russian President Vladimir Putin inspected a parade of "Topol" ballistic missiles, got up close and personal with a new "Topol-M" rocket, and flew to the cosmodrome in Plesetsk. Kommersant's special correspondent Andrei Kolesnikov has the details.
Russian Defense Minister Sergey Ivanov, who came along to the missile division's display of arms, said that "the Russian president is having an army day." In addition to the ballistic missiles, Mr. Putin also planned to have a look at the new "Soyuz-2" rocket launcher in Plesetsk. On his last trip, in 2004, Mr. Putin inspected the "Soyuz" rocket launcher.
The president's visit this time was lent an air of extra significance because the Plesetsk cosmodrome has recently undergone gasification. Defense Minister Ivanov related with pleasure how the recent improvement has increased the effectiveness of the complex's boiler rooms, where soldiers no longer have to be kept on duty as stokers.
For their part, the division's soldiers whiling away the wait for the president sighed heavily as they remembered how a year ago, according to the terms of an agreement with America, they were obliged to destroy the last rocket train of the mobile "Scalpel" rocket complex. The trains in the Scalpel complex, which could be moved along the railroad lines to wherever the need arose, were disguised to appear from the outside like ordinary freight trains.
Finally President Putin arrived by helicopter and was ushered into a small cabin containing a map of the 54th rocket division's position and a Russian television crew. He appeared surprised by the unusual combination, but the moment was interrupted by the commanding officer of the Strategic Missile Forces regiment (RVSN), Nikolai Solovtsov, who shepherded the president away from the curious journalists for a brief introduction to the army base.
When Mr. Putin returned, everyone was treated to a parade of Russia's modernized nuclear arms, including – to general disappointment – older Topol missiles instead of the new Topol-M model. Those awaited us later, at a point deeper in the forest. However, we did get to see a simulated launch of one of the Topol rockets, and both President Putin and I took advantage of the opportunity to talk to some of the division's soldiers and officers before setting off in search of the Topol-M rockets.
The Topol-M rocket project was launched in 2004, when the RSVN commander promised President Putin that the Russian army's arsenal would soon feature a rocket that wouldn't be an embarrassment to the country. The project has not been implemented as professionally as perhaps may have been desired, but Mr. Putin congratulated the program's participants nonetheless. Then he happened to notice how the rocket complex is mined along its entire perimeter and how the mines can selectively happen to go off, and he hastened on his way to Plesetsk.
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Putin was Shown the Future of the Russian Army
The arsenal of the 54th ballistic missile division that Mr. Putin visited yesterday consists of three mobile Topol-M (PC12M1) booster rocket complexes, which were developed in the Moscow Institute of Thermotechnics and manufactured by the Votkinsky factory in Urdmurtia. Until recently, the arsenal only included the shaft version of the Topol-M complexes. The new booster complexes are intended to replace the old Topol rockets, which have been part of the army's arsenal since the late 1980s. According to information obtained by Kommersant, in 2007-2008 207 Topol rockets will be retired from the arsenal. Under a government program overhauling the arsenal before 2015, the RSVN will receive 69 "Topol-M" rockets to replace them. The new rockets, unlike the old Topols, will potentially be fitted out with military equipment compatible with the sea-based Bulava-M ballistic missile (which is currently being tested) and capable of carrying six nuclear warheads. The launch of multi-warhead Topol-M missiles by Russia is currently forbidden by the terms of the SALT-1 treaty. However, that document will expire on December 5, 2009, which will open the door for Moscow to outfit the Topol-M rockets with multiple nuclear warheads.
Ivan Safronov
Andrei Kolesnikov
All the Article in Russian as of Dec. 15, 2006
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