Nuclear weapons of Belarus. Are nuclear weapons returning to Belarus? North Korean missiles and bombs

Non-Proliferation Treaty nuclear weapons(NPT) establishes that nuclear powers are recognized as states that have carried out nuclear explosion before January 1, 1967. Thus, de jure the “nuclear club” includes Russia, the USA, Great Britain, France and China.

India and Pakistan are de facto nuclear states, but de jure they are not.

First nuclear test charger was conducted by India on May 18, 1974. On May 11 and 13, 1998, according to a statement from the Indian side, five nuclear charges were tested, one of which was thermonuclear. India is a consistent critic of the NPT and still remains outside its framework.

A special group, according to experts, consists of states that do not have nuclear status, are capable of creating nuclear weapons, but refrain, due to political and military inexpediency, from becoming nuclear states - the so-called “latent” nuclear states (Argentina, Brazil, Taiwan, Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, Japan and others).

Three states (Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan) that had nuclear weapons on their territory that remained after the collapse Soviet Union, signed in 1992 the Lisbon Protocol to the Treaty between the USSR and the USA on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms. By signing the Lisbon Protocol, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Belarus acceded to the NPT and were included in the list of countries that do not possess nuclear weapons.

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources

IN recent months North Korea and the United States are actively exchanging threats to destroy each other. Since both countries have nuclear arsenals, the world is closely monitoring the situation. On the Day of the Struggle for the Complete Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, we decided to remind you who has them and in what quantities. Today, it is officially known that eight countries that form the so-called Nuclear Club have such weapons.

Who exactly has nuclear weapons?

The first and only state to use nuclear weapons against another country is USA. In August 1945, during World War II, the United States dropped nuclear bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The attack killed more than 200 thousand people.

Nuclear mushroom over Hiroshima (left) and Nagasaki (right). Source: wikipedia.org

Year of first test: 1945

Nuclear charge carriers: submarines, ballistic missiles and bombers

Number of warheads: 6800, including 1800 deployed (ready for use)

Russia has the greatest nuclear stockpile. After the collapse of the Union, Russia became the only heir to the nuclear arsenal.

Year of first test: 1949

Nuclear charge carriers: submarines, missile systems, heavy bombers, and in the future - nuclear trains

Number of warheads: 7,000, including 1,950 deployed (ready for use)

Great Britain is the only country that has not conducted a single test on its territory. The country has 4 submarines with nuclear warheads; other types of troops were disbanded by 1998.

Year of first test: 1952

Nuclear charge carriers: submarines

Number of warheads: 215, including 120 deployed (ready for use)

France conducted ground tests of a nuclear charge in Algeria, where it built a test site for this.

Year of first test: 1960

Nuclear charge carriers: submarines and fighter-bombers

Number of warheads: 300, including 280 deployed (ready for use)

China tests weapons only on its territory. China has pledged not to be the first to use nuclear weapons. China in the transfer of technology for the production of nuclear weapons to Pakistan.

Year of first test: 1964

Nuclear charge carriers: ballistic launch vehicles, submarines and strategic bombers

Number of warheads: 270 (in reserve)

India announced the possession of nuclear weapons in 1998. In the Indian Air Force, nuclear weapons carriers can be French and Russian tactical fighters.

Year of first test: 1974

Nuclear charge carriers: short, medium and extended range missiles

Number of warheads: 120−130 (in reserve)

Pakistan tested its weapons in response to Indian actions. The reaction to the emergence of nuclear weapons in the country was global sanctions. Recently ex-president Pakistan's Pervez Musharraf that Pakistan considered launching a nuclear strike on India in 2002. Bombs can be delivered by fighter-bombers.

Year of first test: 1998

Number of warheads: 130−140 (in reserve)

DPRK announced the development of nuclear weapons in 2005, and conducted its first test in 2006. In 2012, the country declared itself a nuclear power and made corresponding amendments to the Constitution. IN Lately North Korea conducts a lot of tests - the country has intercontinental ballistic missiles and threatens the United States nuclear strike on the American island of Guam, which is located 4 thousand km from the DPRK.

Year of first test: 2006

Nuclear charge carriers: nuclear bombs and missiles

Number of warheads: 10−20 (in reserve)

These 8 countries openly declare the presence of weapons, as well as the tests being carried out. The so-called “old” nuclear powers (USA, Russia, UK, France and China) signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, while the “young” nuclear powers - India and Pakistan refused to sign the document. North Korea first ratified the agreement and then withdrew its signature.

Who can develop nuclear weapons now?

The main "suspect" is Israel. Experts believe that Israel has owned nuclear weapons of its own production since the late 1960s and early 1970s. There were also opinions that the country conducted joint tests with South Africa. According to the Stockholm Peace Research Institute, Israel has about 80 nuclear warheads as of 2017. The country can use fighter-bombers and submarines to deliver nuclear weapons.

Suspicions that Iraq develops weapons mass destruction, was one of the reasons for the invasion of the country by American and British troops (recall the famous speech of US Secretary of State Colin Powell at the UN in 2003, in which he stated that Iraq was working on programs to create biological and chemical weapons and possesses two of the three necessary components for the production of nuclear weapons. — Approx. TUT.BY). Later, the US and UK admitted that there were reasons for the invasion in 2003.

10 years under international sanctions was Iran due to the resumption of the uranium enrichment program in the country under President Ahmadinejad. In 2015, Iran and six international mediators concluded the so-called “nuclear deal” - were withdrawn, and Iran pledged to limit its nuclear activities only to “peaceful atoms”, placing them under international control. With Donald Trump coming to power in the United States, Iran was reintroduced. Tehran, meanwhile, began.

Myanmar V last years also suspected of attempting to create nuclear weapons; it was reported that technology was exported to the country by North Korea. According to experts, Myanmar lacks the technical and financial capabilities to develop weapons.

IN different years many states were suspected of seeking or capable of creating nuclear weapons - Algeria, Argentina, Brazil, Egypt, Libya, Mexico, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Taiwan, Sweden. But the transition from a peaceful atom to a non-peaceful one either was not proven, or the countries curtailed their programs.

Which countries allowed to store nuclear bombs and which refused?

Some European countries store US warheads. According to the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) for 2016, 150−200 are stored in underground storage facilities in Europe and Turkey. nuclear bombs USA. Countries have aircraft capable of delivering charges to intended targets.

Bombs are stored at air bases in Germany(Büchel, more than 20 pieces), Italy(Aviano and Gedi, 70−110 pieces), Belgium(Kleine Brogel, 10−20 pieces), the Netherlands(Volkel, 10−20 pieces) and Turkey(Incirlik, 50−90 pieces).

In 2015, it was reported that the Americans would deploy the latest B61-12 atomic bombs at a base in Germany, and American instructors were training Polish and Baltic Air Force pilots to operate these nuclear weapons.

The United States recently announced that it was negotiating the deployment of its nuclear weapons, where they were stored until 1991.

Four countries voluntarily renounced nuclear weapons on their territory, including Belarus.

After the collapse of the USSR, Ukraine and Kazakhstan were in third and fourth place in the world in terms of the number of nuclear arsenals in the world. The countries agreed to the withdrawal of weapons to Russia under international security guarantees. Kazakhstan transferred strategic bombers to Russia, and sold uranium to the United States. In 2008, the country's President Nursultan Nazarbayev was nominated for Nobel Prize world for its contribution to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.

Ukraine in recent years there has been talk of restoring nuclear status countries. In 2016, the Verkhovna Rada proposed repealing the law “On Ukraine’s accession to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.” Previously Secretary of the Council national security Ukraine's Alexander Turchynov stated that Kyiv is ready to use available resources to create effective weapons.

IN Belarus ended in November 1996. Subsequently, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko more than once called this decision the most serious mistake. In his opinion, “if there were nuclear weapons left in the country, they would be talking to us differently now.”

South Africa is the only country that independently produced nuclear weapons, and after the fall of the apartheid regime voluntarily abandoned them.

Who curtailed their nuclear programs

A number of countries voluntarily, and some under pressure, either curtailed or abandoned their nuclear program at the planning stage. For example, Australia in the 1960s, after providing its territory for nuclear testing, Great Britain decided to build reactors and build a uranium enrichment plant. However, after internal political debates, the program was curtailed.

Brazil after unsuccessful cooperation with Germany in the development of nuclear weapons in the 1970–90s, it conducted a “parallel” nuclear program outside the control of the IAEA. Work was carried out on the extraction of uranium, as well as on its enrichment, albeit at the laboratory level. In the 1990s and 2000s, Brazil recognized the existence of such a program, and it was later closed. Now the country has nuclear technologies, which, when adopted political decision will allow you to quickly begin developing weapons.

Argentina began its development in the wake of rivalry with Brazil. The program received its greatest boost in the 1970s when the military came to power, but by the 1990s the administration had changed to a civilian one. When the program was terminated, experts estimated that about a year of work remained to achieve the technological potential of creating nuclear weapons. As a result, in 1991, Argentina and Brazil signed an agreement on the use of nuclear energy exclusively for peaceful purposes.

Libya under Muammar Gaddafi after unsuccessful attempts to acquire ready weapon China and Pakistan decided on their own nuclear programs. In the 1990s, Libya was able to purchase 20 centrifuges for uranium enrichment, but a lack of technology and qualified personnel prevented the creation of nuclear weapons. In 2003, after negotiations with the UK and the US, Libya curtailed its weapons of mass destruction program.

Egypt abandoned the nuclear program after the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

Taiwan carried out his developments for 25 years. In 1976, under pressure from the IAEA and the United States, it officially abandoned the program and dismantled the plutonium separation facility. However, he later resumed nuclear research in secret. In 1987, one of the leaders of the Zhongshan Institute of Science and Technology fled to the United States and spoke about the program. As a result, work was stopped.

In 1957 Switzerland created a Commission to study the possibility of possessing nuclear weapons, which came to the conclusion that weapons were necessary. Options were considered for purchasing weapons from the USA, Great Britain or the USSR, as well as developing them with France and Sweden. ABOUT However, by the end of the 1960s the situation in Europe had calmed down, and Switzerland signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Then for some time the country supplied nuclear technologies abroad.

Sweden has been actively developing since 1946. Her distinctive feature was the creation of a nuclear infrastructure, the country's leadership was focused on the implementation of the concept of a closed nuclear fuel cycle. As a result, by the end of the 1960s, Sweden was ready for mass production of nuclear warheads. In the 1970s, the nuclear program was closed because... the authorities decided that the country would not be able to cope with simultaneous development modern species conventional weapons and the creation of a nuclear arsenal.

South Korea began its development in the late 1950s. In 1973, the Weapons Research Committee developed a 6-10 year plan to develop nuclear weapons. Negotiations were held with France on the construction of a plant for radiochemical processing of irradiated nuclear fuel and the release of plutonium. However, France refused to cooperate. In 1975, South Korea ratified the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The US promised to provide the country with " nuclear umbrella" After American President Carter announced his intention to withdraw troops from Korea, the country secretly resumed its nuclear program. The work continued until 2004, when it became public knowledge. South Korea has curtailed its program, but today the country is capable of short time carry out the development of nuclear weapons.

Veteran rocket officers told a ZARYA.BY correspondent about the events of those years and their service in the Strategic Missile Forces.

Vladimir KORSAKOV, retired colonel, in the 90s, chief engineer - deputy commander for armaments of the 31st missile division:

There were 4 missile divisions stationed in Soviet Belarus. Until the end of the 80s, they were armed with R-12, R-14 and RSD-10 missiles. It was a powerful destructive force. For example, the RSD-10 missile of the Pioneer mobile ground missile system carried multiple head part with three warheads with a capacity of 150 kt each with individual guidance on their own targets.

One launcher solved the problems of a combined arms division during the Second World War. And there were eight of these in the missile regiment alone. With the power, accuracy, range of Soviet missile systems the NATO leadership was forced to take it into account, and as a result, the West entered into negotiations with the Soviet Union on stopping the production of mobile SRCs and their complete elimination, which in itself was an indirect recognition of the military superiority of the USSR.

When the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles was signed between the USSR and the USA on December 8, 1987 in Washington. According to this document, missiles of these classes located on the territory of Belarus were subject to destruction. Very strict schedules were drawn up for their elimination. At the Lesnaya missile base from 1988 to 1991. 155 R-12 and R-14 missiles were eliminated, 72 launchers, 60 head parts and 246 pieces of auxiliary equipment. Instead of medium- and shorter-range missiles, the 32nd, 33rd and 49th missile divisions began to receive a new mobile ground complex "Topol", which had no equal in any of the most developed countries peace. It was armed with a three-stage solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile capable of hitting enemy targets right up to US territory, and created a real threat to NATO troops both in Western Europe, and overseas.

The complex's missile can be launched from any point along the route combat patrol. Preparation time for the start is about two minutes. By 1991, the missile divisions near the cities of Lida, Mozyr and Postavy had the 81st such launcher. It seemed that global military parity had been achieved. But, as it later turned out, the most advanced Soviet weapons were often “quite by accident” included in the liquidated complexes, and new developments were frozen. The unrestrained multi-stage demilitarization of the USSR destroyed not only the arms race and “ iron curtain“, but destroyed the military-industrial complex, which formed one of the foundations of the Soviet economy.

As a result of the collapse of the USSR, the number of nuclear powers increased, since at the time of the signing of the Belovezh Accords, Soviet nuclear weapons were stationed on the territory of four union republics: Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan. Through diplomatic efforts, Russia and the United States ensured that Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan renounced their status as nuclear powers and transferred to Russia all the military atomic potential found on their territory. On August 13, 1993, the withdrawal of missile systems began strategic purpose"Topol" from Belarus to Russia.

Valentin POPOV, retired colonel, commander of repair and technical bases in the 90s:

I had to command repair and technical bases, which were special units on the operation of nuclear and thermonuclear ammunition. It was a very dangerous and responsible job, which was performed only by highly qualified specialists. Our task was to receive, transport, unload, transfer to highest degree combat readiness, carrying out regulations, storage, performing combat missions combat duty using missile warheads. The maintenance of ammunition warheads required special measures to comply with the temperature and humidity conditions in the structures where they were located.

It was a whole complex of events. Each operation during the operation of ammunition was performed by at least three people. A mistake by any soldier could lead to serious, or even catastrophic, consequences. After all, only one thermonuclear charge carried the power of hundreds atomic bombs, dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki!

Before working with the knots and the product itself, all performers wore special clothes and slippers with leather soles stitched with copper wire. This was necessary to remove static electricity on the ground loop, the resistance of which was systematically controlled. It was forbidden to work in clothes other than cotton, without head caps, or to carry combs, rings, watches and other objects that could become electrified or impale charge points and products.

Special security measures were taken during the liquidation of launchers. We worked in winter, summer and in the heat, and in snow and rain, at night and during the day in any conditions, wearing rubberized protective equipment, rubber boots and gloves, and gas masks. The missiles were delivered to the railway station closest to the regiment's deployment, the fuel components were drained from them, they were loaded with 8T26 cranes on the MoAZ-546 chassis into carriages that looked like mail cars, and they were taken to the Lesnaya missile base near Baranovichi, where the liquidation of the R-12 and R-14. RSD-10s were taken to the Kapustin Yar training ground, where they were destroyed by detonation or launch.

The combat units were transported to the loading site in compliance with even greater safety measures in specially equipped thermal insulation rooms, ensuring temperature regime and specified humidity in Ural car bodies. The drivers of these cars underwent special training. The warheads were loaded into isolated wagons and sent partly for processing to specialized plants, partly to a central storage base.

Yuri KUZNETSOV, reserve major, in the 90s, senior assistant to the head of the personnel department of the 32nd missile division:

Reduction, elimination of missiles, withdrawal missile forces from Belarus this is for many veterans tragic event. Imagine what it was like for the rocket officers, who spent hundreds of hours day and night on combat duty, draining fuel, cutting off rocket engine nozzles and cutting the tanks of their rockets.

And what was it like to be laid off in the prime of your life, to find yourself out of work, to lose your favorite job, to be uprooted from your acquired positions, or to literally start your life from scratch. But we also coped with these difficulties, preserving the memory of the combat path of the missile divisions of the Strategic Missile Forces group in Belarus.

The collapse of the Soviet Union suddenly turned Belarus into nuclear power. But the warheads located on the territory our country, fact was physically controlled by Moscow. The last missile left Belarus on November 26, 1996. This event was preceded by long and difficult negotiations with Russia and the West.

The nuclear button remains in Russia

Belarus in Soviet times was an outpost Soviet army, aimed at the West, there were a lot of weapons in the country. Even ex-Prime Minister Vyacheslav Kebich, who can hardly be suspected of criticizing the Soviet order, stated in his memoirs: in terms of the number of tanks per capita, the BSSR was the most militarized in the world. Belarus also had enough nuclear weapons, which appeared in the country in the 1960s. As of 1989, there were about 1,180 strategic and tactical nuclear warheads on the territory of the BSSR. Four missile divisions, which were based near Pruzhany, Mozyr, Postavy and Lida, were responsible for their maintenance. The areas near the bases resembled a desert that stretched for tens of kilometers. But the nuclear weapons control system was in Moscow, which means that Belarusians became hostages of the all-Union leadership.

After Chernobyl, society was seriously opposed to the atom, which no longer seemed peaceful to anyone. Therefore, the document adopted on July 27, 1990 stated: “The Belarusian SSR aims to make its territory a nuclear-free zone, and the republic a neutral state.” This desire met with sympathy from abroad: things were heading towards the collapse of the USSR, and America was interested in the composition of “ nuclear club"remained unchanged. According to Petr Kravchenko(in 1990–1994 - Minister of Foreign Affairs of the BSSR, and then of the Republic of Belarus), already in September 1991, meeting with US Secretary of State James Baker, he talked about the nuclear-free status of the republic.

The implementation of these plans became possible only after Belovezhskaya Pushcha. The leaders of the republics understood the risks of losing control over the “nuclear button,” therefore, the agreement on the creation of the CIS on December 8, 1991 guaranteed that the members of the Commonwealth “ensure unified control over nuclear weapons and their non-proliferation.”

Subsequent agreements adopted at the turn of 1991-1992 determined the temporary status of nuclear weapons, which by the time of the collapse of the USSR were located on the territory of four republics: Belarus, Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. To control nuclear weapons a unified command was created strategic forces, which was to be headed by Marshal Yevgeny Shaposhnikov, who had previously been the Minister of Defense of the USSR. Ukraine and Belarus were to abandon the warheads stationed on their territories and join the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Until this time, the decision on its use had to be made by the President of Russia “in agreement with the leaders of Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan in consultation with the heads of other member states of the Commonwealth.” Tactical nuclear weapons were to be transported to Russia and dismantled there under joint control. All four countries were to jointly develop nuclear weapons policies.

The situation turned out to be ambiguous. At first glance, the parties declared universal control over weapons. On the other hand, Russia continued to play first fiddle: in 1993, the Chicago Tribune stated: “In practice, this means that only Yeltsin knows the code to control their [missiles] launch, but it is assumed that he will not order the launch without the consent of Ukraine , Kazakhstan and Belarus". Of course, this situation was not very encouraging.

Belarus and Ukraine: different strategies

Remained open question, what compensation countries will receive for abandoning nuclear weapons. Position Stanislav Shushkevich was simple: we need to get rid of the missiles as soon as possible. As the ex-speaker later said, “Belarus was actually a hostage to Russia. There were so many nuclear weapons on its surface that it was possible to destroy all of Europe. I considered this a very dangerous matter, and as soon as we signed the Belovezhskaya Agreements, I said: we will withdraw nuclear weapons without preconditions, compensation, and we will do this immediately, because this threatens the death of the Belarusian nation, Belarus.”

But other politicians argued that serious compensation could be received for abandoning the missiles. “I consider the biggest mistake in the early 90s to be the withdrawal of nuclear weapons from Belarus according to the model that the West imposed on Shushkevich, and Shushkevich on the Supreme Council,” wrote one of the leaders of the Belarusian Popular Front, a deputy of the Supreme Council. Sergey Naumchik. – Yes, the weapons had to be withdrawn (and the line about nuclear freedom in the Declaration of Sovereignty is mine), but on conditions favorable to Belarus (among which, it is possible, visa-free or facilitated entry). But at the end of December 1991 in Alma-Ata, Shushkevich, without consulting the members of the Belarusian delegation, agreed without any conditions to recognize Russia as the legal successor of the USSR in the UN and the owner of nuclear weapons.”

From the memoirs of Pyotr Kravchenko “Belarus at a crossroads. Notes of a politician and diplomat":“We experienced a real shock. It turned out that Shushkevich simply betrayed us! Passed national interests Belarus, which in one fell swoop lost its main trump card in negotiations with Russia,<…>. Of course, he had no right to make such decisions without consulting the entire delegation.<…>The second person who fully realized the drama of what was happening was my long-time opponent Zenon Poznyak. He gloomily watched our squabble and, sighing sadly, dropped the following phrase: “Shushkevich does not care about state interests Motherland!”<…>As part of the Belarusian-Russian agreements, 87 SS-25 class missiles were removed from the territory of Belarus. They were dismantled at the Arzamas-3 enterprise. From them it turned out<…>uranium, which Russia later sold to the United States. As a result of this deal, Russia received more than ten billion dollars. These are official data, although the Russian opposition press claimed that the transaction price was several times higher.”

At the same time, Ukraine took a completely different position. In March 1992, the president of this country Leonid Kravchuk stopped the export of tactical nuclear weapons to Russia. As the leader of Ukraine stated, “due to the current political instability and confusion, we cannot be sure that the missiles we export are destroyed and do not fall into the wrong hands.<…>Ukraine considers the capacity of the nuclear arsenal destruction plant located in Russia to be insufficient. Therefore, it has the right to have a similar enterprise on its territory.<…>It can also take on the processing of waste from the republic’s nuclear power plants.”

Ukraine also proposed that the removal of nuclear weapons from its territory and their destruction be carried out under international control. According to researcher Denis Rafeenko, this policy was explained by Ukrainian-Russian contradictions over Crimea and the Black Sea Fleet. "In these conditions nuclear map was used by the leadership of Ukraine as a response to certain actions of the Russian side.”

Whose compensation will be greater?

The Ukrainian position caused certain problems. On July 30-31, 1991, the Treaty on the Reduction of Strategic Offensive Arms (START-1) was signed in Moscow. According to the document, the USSR and the USA were to reduce their nuclear arsenals. At the same time, each side was supposed to have no more than 6 thousand weapons left. As noted Denis Rafeenko, “the US view of the events taking place in Ukraine at that time was that if Ukraine failed to ratify the START I Treaty, then this treaty would lose its force. Congress of People's Deputies Russian Federation“has decided to ratify the START I Treaty, but not to exchange instruments of ratification until Ukraine accedes to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.” It was necessary to look for a compromise.

As the economies of Ukraine and Belarus struggled, both countries hoped for support from the West and Russia. But Ukraine, which did not completely renounce weapons, used them as an argument, and Belarus acted as a supplicant.

As Pyotr Kravchenko recalls, in January 1992, Belarus announced that it would not only fulfill all its obligations, but also accelerate the withdrawal of tactical nuclear weapons from the country. This became a trump card in negotiations with the Americans, who in the spring of that year extended the Nunn-Lugar program to our country. It provided for the allocation of $250 million for purposes related to ensuring nuclear safety during the dismantling, redeployment and destruction of nuclear warheads. Belarus received more than $100 million. Let us note that later, in 1993, during the visit of the Belarusian delegation led by Stanislav Shushkevich to the United States, Belarus received another 59 million.

At the same time, negotiations were ongoing between Western countries and former Soviet and now independent republics. On May 23, 1992, the Lisbon Protocol to the START I Treaty was signed.

Nuclear weapons in Belarus: no secrets?

The secrecy surrounding nuclear weapons gives rise to many rumors. There are also a lot of them in relation to Belarus. In Soviet times, in the Belarusian Military District (by the way, it was the only district in the USSR whose borders completely coincided with the borders of the republic) there was a powerful military group that possessed nuclear weapons. In reputable publications I have read about supposedly testing low-power nuclear weapons in Polesie, and in silly detective novels - about some secret bases for storing nuclear weapons in this region.

Vasily Semashko, www.naviny.by
To figure out what is truth and what is fiction about nuclear weapons in Belarus, I talked with Pavel Kozlovsky, once the chief of staff of the Belarusian Military District, and then the first Minister of Defense of Belarus. He said that nuclear weapons appeared in Belarus in the 1960s.
Nuclear explosive devices are placed on: intercontinental ballistic missiles, operational-tactical missiles, tactical missiles ah, in artillery shells, aerial bombs, torpedoes, in the form of portable explosive devices.
Let's look at each of these media. Intercontinental ballistic missiles are the most formidable weapons. The President of the USSR could give a command for the right to use these missiles using the well-known “nuclear suitcase”. Intercontinental missiles coming into space, are capable of hitting a target anywhere in the world within 40 minutes. Military units with intercontinental ballistic missiles (hereinafter referred to as ICBMs) reported directly to Moscow, the headquarters of the Strategic Missile Forces (Strategic Missile Forces). The commander of the Belarusian Military District had no right to interfere in the affairs of the Strategic Missile Forces and did not receive any information from them. Even housing for the families of Strategic Missile Forces officers was built by construction units belonging to these troops.
First intercontinental missiles due to their size, they were only mine-based. According to Kozlovsky, in Belarus in the 1960s there were several such silos for, so to speak, primitive missiles. These mines have long been abandoned or destroyed during Soviet times. With the reduction in the size of ICBMs, it became possible to place them on automobile chassis. The mobility of missiles makes them significantly less vulnerable to an enemy first strike. The chassis for the Topol type ICBM was made by the Minsk Wheel Tractor Plant. People call them "centipedes" because a large number of wheels
From the mid-1970s to the end of the 1980s, missiles were based in many places in Belarus medium range- RSD-10 (“Pioneers”), capable of hitting targets in Western Europe. The missiles were placed on automobile chassis and most of the time were kept in concrete hangars. Under the Treaty on the Reduction of Medium-Range Missiles short range between the USA and the USSR in 1987, these missiles were destroyed. The last Pioneers were destroyed in May 1991. Their place, in much smaller numbers, was taken by the more powerful Topol intercontinental missiles. They are several meters longer. Because of this, they were not placed in the hangars left over from the Pioneers, and the launchers were constantly located in the open air.
In the last few years of the existence of the USSR, there were 3 headquarters of Strategic Missile Forces units in Belarus: in Lida, Pruzhany and Mozyr. Within a radius of several tens of kilometers from these places they were based on a car chassis rocket launchers ICBM "Topol". Each of these installations had at least three concrete launch pads (concrete thickness - 1.5 m) with side dimensions of several tens of meters. The launch pads had precisely measured coordinates, which before their creation satellite system navigation "Glonass" provided the necessary accuracy of the hit. It is also possible to launch from unprepared positions, but in this case, preparing the rocket for launch takes longer. During the exercises, huge tractors, mostly at night, periodically moved to starting positions. There were 81 launch sites in Belarus. According to the arms reduction agreement with the United States, all sites were to be destroyed. Funds were allocated for this. But only 3 sites were destroyed, and at this point all work was suspended due to the deterioration of relations between Minsk and Washington.
After the collapse of the USSR, all units of the Strategic Missile Forces remained subordinate to Russia, but were withdrawn from Belarus only in 1996, when Russia prepared the necessary conditions for their deployment.
Nuclear weapons in the form of operational-tactical, tactical missiles, artillery shells and aerial bombs went to independent Belarus in 1991. Perhaps there were still small quantities of small portable nuclear mines for saboteurs.
Operational-tactical missiles have a range of up to 400 kilometers, tactical ones - up to 120, and nuclear artillery shells with a caliber of 120 mm and above have a firing range of approximately 10 to 30 kilometers.
The charges for the above-mentioned carriers were stored separately on special mobile missile technical bases (PRTB), and a very limited circle of military personnel directly involved in servicing these charges had the opportunity to enter such storage facilities. Before use, they were transported in special containers to the carrier locations (airfields, missile and artillery bases).
Having assumed the position of chief of staff of the Belarusian Military District, Pavel Kozlovsky visited the nuclear warhead storage base for the first time. The storage facility itself, according to him, was located on the territory of a military unit, in a concrete bunker underground at a depth of 1.5 meters, and had protective systems, including a high-voltage barbed wire fence. Soldiers guarded the vault conscript service this part. The storage facility maintained a certain temperature and humidity regime. The charges were located on several shelves: missile warheads- in one direction, artillery - in the other.
“Like young piglets in stalls,” this is how Pavel Kozlovsky describes his impressions of his first visit to the storage facility. - Smooth, clean, standing in even rows nuclear warheads. It is often described in books that if you put your hand on a nuclear charge, you will feel the heat from the slow decay of plutonium or uranium. I also put my hand on the smooth side. I didn’t feel the warmth - cold steel very durable body. While in the vault, I felt the enormous power hidden in the steel “pigs.”
All nuclear explosive devices have reliable protection systems. To bring a nuclear explosive device into combat readiness it is necessary to perform a series of sequential operations that are divided between several specialists. Each specialist knows only a certain part of the operations. The safety automation of nuclear explosive devices evaluates the surrounding conditions and detonates the charge only after meeting the necessary conditions that arise when delivering the charge to a specific target. When an unauthorized detonation or disassembly is attempted, complex electronic devices are rendered inoperable.
There are nuclear charges based on plutonium and uranium. Even if an explosion fails, simply dispersing uranium or plutonium can cause persistent radioactive contamination of the area - a disaster similar to Chernobyl. However, for this purpose it is much easier to use cesium, which is used in industrial devices. For terrorists, uranium is the most in demand due to the ease of making a nuclear explosive device from it.
According to Pavel Kozlovsky, in the early 1990s, a trained group of terrorists like the Chechens could, if they wanted, seize one of the nuclear weapons storage facilities in Belarus. The possibility of a surprise attack by trained terrorists was not seriously considered at that time. Of course, the army conducted exercises to protect important military installations from possible sabotage groups. During such exercises, the security of protected objects increased sharply, and after that it weakened again.
Some Belarusian politicians, including the president, have repeatedly expressed regret that Belarus has lost its nuclear weapons.
“For Belarus, nuclear weapons are an unaffordable luxury,” says Pavel Kozlovsky. - Even storing nuclear weapons is a very expensive business. Nuclear weapons require regular inspection and maintenance. Belarus does not have its own service specialists, and no country is willing to assist in their training. We will have to regularly invite specialists from Russian nuclear centers. Often preventive work with ammunition can only be carried out in the manufacturing plant. Transporting nuclear weapons to a manufacturing plant in Russia is not cheap. Nuclear weapons have a shelf life after which they must be disposed of. To do this, you will again have to contact Russian specialists and return the ammunition to the manufacturer. Not only nuclear weapons are becoming obsolete, but also the storage sites themselves. By the beginning of the 1990s, the security and alarm systems, air conditioning, and utility systems of warehouses became outdated and required replacement. Replacing all of this is a huge expense.”
According to Pavel Kozlovsky, the main reason why our authorities decided to get rid of nuclear weapons in the early 1990s is economic: poor Belarus cannot afford to maintain nuclear weapons.
Among the places where nuclear weapons storage facilities were located, the former Minister of Defense named the environs of Lepel, Shchuchin, Osipovichi, airfields near Minsk and Baranovichi, where the strategic aviation. I wanted to see for myself the conditions in which nuclear weapons were stored.
Of the places where nuclear weapons were stored, I chose to visit the military unit near Lepel, in the Vitebsk region. Now in this part, located in the area beautiful lakes, there is a sanatorium of the Ministry of Defense of Belarus and a military forestry. Many former military personnel work here.
Where I once stood military equipment, now desolation. The premises are occupied by small wood processing and car repair businesses. Based on the preserved earthen rampart encircling an area the size of a football field, which protected objects located on it from direct shots, and the remains of several rows of barriers, I found the location of a mobile missile and technical battery. There were several firing points nearby for security. PTB at military bases is traditionally the most protected facility. Later, local residents confirmed that I had indeed found the site of the PTB.
The buildings that were once located there are now completely destroyed. In conversations with me, local residents were surprised when I mentioned the nuclear weapons stored near them. This is not surprising: even among the military personnel who served here, only a few knew what was stored behind a powerful earthen rampart surrounded by several fences.
I also discovered several dozen abandoned dummies of anti-tank mines, containing low-quality concrete instead of explosives. I measure the radioactive background. Everything is absolutely normal. It's hard to believe that terrible nuclear weapons were once located here.