Simon Saradzhyan
Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Contact:
Telephone: 617-496-8228
Email: simon_saradzhyan@hks.harvard.edu
AP Photo
March 22, 2011
"Russia Presses Ahead With Nuclear Plants After Japan Crisis"
Op-Ed, The Huffington Post
By Simon Saradzhyan, Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
While Russian authorities saw the recent calamities in Japan as a chance to initiate a rapprochement with the country, says Simon Saradzhyan, Moscow's overtures to Tokyo have received a cool reception. However, he says, "Japan's nuclear crisis nonetheless represents an opportunity for Russian policy-makers to take a fresh look at the country's nuclear energy policies in order to ensure that both existing and future plants are protected against natural or man-made calamities, even those that may still seem unthinkable."
February 3, 2011
The U.S.-Russia Initiative to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism Newsletter: December 2010 - January 2011
Newsletter
By Simon Saradzhyan, Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Suicide Terrorist Attack on Moscow's Domodedovo Airport; Pakistan and Russia Consult on Counterterrorism and Non-Proliferation; Counterterrorism Training Center in Russia to Be Built in Russia; more.
November 2010
The U.S.-Russia Initiative to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism Newsletter: October-November 2010
Newsletter
By Simon Saradzhyan, Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Ex-Secretaries Urge Senate to Ratify New START; Belarus to Give Up HEU Stock; Russia Opens International Atomic Fuel Bank in Angarsk; and more.
October 4, 2010
The U.S.-Russia Initiative to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism Newsletter: August-September 2010
Newsletter
By Simon Saradzhyan, Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
The U.S.-Russia Initiative to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism Newsletter is a forum for discussing nuclear terrorism and actions to contribute to improved joint US-Russian assessment of the threat of nuclear terrorism. Available in both English and Russian.
July 1, 2010
"Russia and the 'Global Zero'"
Op-Ed, Russia in Global Affairs
By Simon Saradzhyan, Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
A nuclear-free world will probably prove unattainable even in the longer-term. However, if Russia, the U.S. and other responsible nations take even some of the initial steps required to progress towards Global Zero, the world will become significantly safer-not only for these nations, but for the entire international community.
February 22, 2010
"Russian Police Reform Still Lacking"
Op-Ed, International Relations and Security Network
By Simon Saradzhyan, Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has launched much-needed reform of the nation's Interior Ministry, but the innovations may not cure the agency's main ills: corruption and abuse of power, argues Belfer Center fellow Simon Saradzhyan.
AP Photo
February 16, 2010
"Nuclear 'Constraint' in Russia"
Op-Ed, International Relations and Security Network
By Simon Saradzhyan, Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
"... [W]hile references to NATO-related threats have won more play in the media, the innovations in the doctrine's provisions on nuclear weapons are clearly more significant. For the first time since the adoption of the first-use policy, the Russian leadership has decided to constrain, if only somewhat, the use of nuclear weapons in a strategic document."
October 22, 2009
"Russian Nuke Plans, Overkill"
Op-Ed, International Relations and Security Network
By Simon Saradzhyan, Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
The Russian military and security community's drive to expand the use of nuclear weapons in the new defense doctrine will add little value to deterring real threats, but may undermine Russia's image as a co-leader of nuclear arms control, Simon Saradzhyan comments for ISN Security Watch.
September 11, 2009
Russia's Support for Zero: Tactical Move or Long-term Commitment?
Paper
By Simon Saradzhyan, Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Although powerful contingents within the Russian leadership ascribe significant value to the various roles played by the country's nuclear arsenal, they have nonetheless enumerated consecutive or simultaneous external conditions necessary for Russia to embark on the road towards eliminating nuclear weapons. These include: universal implementation of existing nuclear arms control and nonproliferation treaties; further and irreversible cuts in U.S.-Russian nuclear arsenals; constraints on U.S. missile defense and enhancement of Russian conventional forces; and resolution of major conflicts. Subsequently, there will be a verifiable accounting of all nuclear powers' nuclear arsenals, their reduction and elimination, followed by guarantees that no country or sub-state actor would be able to develop/acquire such weapons in the future.
March 2003
Russia: Grasping Reality of Nuclear Terror
Discussion Paper
By Simon Saradzhyan, Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
The likelihood of a catastrophic terrorist attack against Russia is growing, as radical separatists in troubled Chechnya increasingly become more desperate, and security at many of Russia's civil nuclear facilities remains insufficient.
