- 9 months ago
A journalist interviews members of Russia's nuclear armed forces and gives viewers a glimpse into their home and work lives, while discussing the challenges of nuclear policy and practice.
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00:01In the shocking aftermath of the attacks on New York and Washington,
00:06even as we grapple with the war on terrorism,
00:10the nuclear nightmare is stirring once again.
00:14Some experts say the risk of an accidental launch of a nuclear missile
00:19may be even higher today than in the Cold War.
00:23For more than 50 years, the security of the world depended
00:27on a hair-triggered balance of terror between the two superpowers,
00:31the United States and the Soviet Union.
00:35Roger, copy. This is not an exercise.
00:38Now, both Russia and the U.S. appear to be united in the war against terrorism.
00:44But still, there are dangers and disagreements.
00:49President Bush remains committed to shielding the United States
00:52under a national missile defense.
00:56which President Vladimir Putin has always insisted
01:00could set off a new spiral of the arms race.
01:05Russia's 6,000 warheads are aging and unreliable.
01:11Her failing early warning systems could plunge the world into doomsday by accident.
01:19Panicking commanders of her cash-starved and demoralized armies
01:24could launch a desperate first strike.
01:31Tonight, for the first time on television,
01:34NOVA penetrates Russia's largest missile base
01:37and the inner sanctum of its command and control center.
01:41Vladimir Posner, a leading Russian journalist raised in America
01:50and a Kremlin insider for decades,
01:52presents an intimate portrait of Russia's rocket men
01:55and raises provocative and unsettling questions.
02:00How do Russians view the uncertain new era of nuclear defense?
02:05Who are the men who hold the keys that could unleash your missiles?
02:09And could it be, as some maintain,
02:15that the world is at greater risk of nuclear obliteration now
02:19than at any time during the Cold War?
02:49Major funding for NOVA is provided by the Park Foundation,
02:57dedicated to education and quality television.
03:02This program is funded in part by the Northwestern Mutual Foundation.
03:07Some people already know Northwestern Mutual can help plan for your children's education.
03:12Are you there yet?
03:14Northwestern Mutual Financial Network.
03:19Science.
03:21It's given us the framework to help make wireless communications clear.
03:27Sprint PCS is proud to support NOVA.
03:32And by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
03:36and by contributions to your PBS station from viewers like you.
03:49The
04:19Ten years after the end of the Cold War and ten years after the downfall of the Soviet
04:46Union, Moscow's military museum preserves what one might call the relics of the country's
04:52former might. The country's military is very low in morale and even lower in money, but
04:59the strategic nuclear forces are anything but museum pieces, and thousands of missiles
05:05are still ready and waiting. Russia's nuclear missiles are deployed at some 20 sites scattered
05:13across the country's vast spaces. Until today, the missile bases have been highly secret,
05:21sealed off from outsiders. But NOVA has gained access to Russia's largest missile base, the
05:28heart of the nation's nuclear force. This is the township of Svetli. In Russian it means
05:35bright. Situated some 500 miles southeast of Moscow, Svetli was built 25 years ago and
05:44ever since then has been the country's number one strategic nuclear missile base. Over that
05:58past quarter of a century, there have been stupendous changes in Russia, but not here.
06:07As always, twice a week, a replacement squad of missileers, in Russian called Raketschiki, heads
06:15out to 20 remote launch control centers. From underground bunkers, they will command 200 missiles buried
06:27in silos. This is the hidden world of Raketschiki, the underground tunnels leading to the missile launch
06:42centers. For decades, Russia's missileers have watched over the nation's nuclear arsenal, ceaselessly
06:49and checking the readiness of the missiles under their control. And every time they go on duty,
07:02they await the ultimate order to turn the keys and launch nuclear devastation.
07:08This is the nuclear punch of Russia's biggest missile base, the Topol M. A squadron of
07:3430 Topol M's is based around Svetli. Designed to be fired from either a mobile launcher or a silo,
07:47the Topol has a range of over 6,000 miles and the destructive power of 35 Hiroshima bombs.
07:55Incidentally, Topol means poplar tree in Russian. Heaven forbid, having to rest in its shade.
08:1022-year-old Lieutenant Yevgeny Pavlov is an extremely bright and likable young man who could have chosen
08:20a much more financially rewarding career than that of Miss Aliyah.
08:27To join the Raketschiki, he left behind a passion for action sports and a girlfriend.
08:37My girlfriend. My mother wanted that I will become a doctor. But I'll say never. And my dreams at school was to become a Russian officer.
09:06And that's why now I am a Russian officer.
09:15Once upon a time Russians enlisted in the armed forces because of the advantages offered over civilian life.
09:22Higher pay, more available homes, good school and good hospital facilities, and of course the status, the respect.
09:31That is no longer the case. For all of the army. With one exception. The strategic missile forces.
09:38Time is working. The reserve source is on control. Yes.
09:43In a missile launch simulator on the base, Colonel Yuri Petrovsky is training Lieutenant Pavlov and other young Raketschiki.
09:54Colonel Petrovsky arrived here when Lieutenant Pavlov was born, 22 years ago.
09:59Then it seemed that nuclear war was just around the corner and the enemy was at the gates.
10:08At that time the ideology that was fed to us, you could say it shaped my view of the world.
10:21That the enemy is across the sea. Now I understand there is no enemy as such.
10:30But in my old brain cells, maybe some of that remains.
10:36Colonel Petrovsky and his wife Natalia, a teacher at one of the local schools, have recently moved into a bigger apartment on the base.
10:55Their daughter and her husband often come to visit them from the nearby city of Saratov, where they are studying.
11:10Both the colonel and his wife are staunch supporters of life on the base.
11:14Life here in the town is unique, odd. It's also cheerful, interesting and unusual.
11:27I would say that things are more orderly here than in a big city. It's better for children.
11:35In big cities they can fall in with bad company. There are drugs. Here we don't have things like that.
11:51And what do we live for? We live for our children, for the family.
12:05Just outside Svetli base lies the village of Tatishti.
12:12It has the same population as Svetli, but that's all they have in common.
12:23There are few jobs here, and little money.
12:26Tatishti is what the reality of post-communist Russia looks like.
12:33A country where economic woes and social disintegration have slashed the average male life expectancy to just 59 years.
12:48Within the gates of Svetli base, the world is very different.
12:52This is more than just a military base. It's a town. A town of 20,000, complete with three public schools, sports facilities, a cultural center, a hospital.
13:04It is a closed town. It's not open to anyone. It's off-limits for those who don't live here. And it is privileged.
13:10The registration of new babies on the base is a special occasion.
13:34The champagne, music, and dancing are just some of the signs that life here is very different.
13:52The schools would make Moscow envious.
13:59The schools would make Moscow envious.
14:02Jeans.
14:03T-shirt.
14:04T-shirt.
14:05Slippers.
14:06Slippers.
14:07Sweater.
14:08Sweater.
14:09Boots.
14:10Boots.
14:11Chai.
14:14The kids seem confident, happy, and secure.
14:22But while life on the base is certainly better than in most of Russia,
14:30by Western standards, it would have to be called a hard and often bleak existence.
14:37The American history of the country is a very important part of Russia,
14:39Russian standards, and a very beautiful country.
14:40The Korean anti-ijeохist, Russian standards, Russian standards,
14:41and modern system, 1918 standards, the United States,
14:52and Soviet national standards.
14:54Let me say that M. Kennel, who is responsible for warheads equal to all nuclear potential of Great Britain.
15:05He receives less than $60 a month.
15:11But believe me that two years ago the situation was even worse.
15:20They did not receive even this small salary.
15:26Even in Russia it's not a big money.
15:30And a few years ago Russian officers were permitted to have a few days on leave...
15:40...in order to raise money as gypsy cab drivers, for instance.
15:45I don't know why, but they have their own ideology.
15:50And I asked this question to myself a lot of times.
15:55I don't know why people are serving in such difficult conditions.
15:59But they are serving and they are thinking about defense of their motherland.
16:05And it looks rather interesting in Russia where from time to time...
16:12...you think that no one believes to anything.
16:16The continuing faith of the people stationed here at Russia's biggest missile base...
16:23...has to do in part with the traditional privileges...
16:26...which almost always underlie traditional loyalties.
16:31But for Russia's elite missileers Svetly offers something more.
16:36The biggest part of funding is located there.
16:43You can see the best barrack rooms, the best recreation centers...
16:49...and people there are very enthusiastic...
16:54...because they are working with the newest missile system in Russia, Topol-M.
17:02And this experience will play a crucial role in their future career.
17:13General Yuri Kavelin is the base commander.
17:17He was a construction worker, then joined the army...
17:20...and progressed through the ranks of the strategic missile forces.
17:24He now commands 6,000 Raketsiki and 2,500 military support forces.
17:32He knows exactly how things stand with the troubled Russian military.
17:37But he has no doubt about the morale of the Raketsiki.
17:42The missile forces are a special world. A special world.
17:49It's a world which, from the creation of the missile forces...
17:55...was based on the best traditions of the Russian army...
17:59...and the best officers.
18:01At the beginning we had tank, navy and air force officers.
18:05The best officers of the Russian army.
18:08And we continue this tradition until today.
18:10My father used to say, someone always has to start the process of changing things.
18:22When we arrived at military college, our commanding officers started to train us...
18:26...as the people who have to show the world a new army.
18:29I think our generation is going to change the army...
18:35...so that it will be respected again, as it was in the past.
18:38Russia's missiles are test-fired several times a year...
18:44...to check their readiness.
18:46In spite of today's problems, we have managed to preserve...
18:50...our stability, flexibility and war readiness.
18:54However, there is a problem of weapons aging fast.
19:15The aging of our missiles demands constant attention.
19:19Russia's maintenance crews are fighting to keep their missiles in service.
19:32Russia's weapons are often simpler...
19:34...and less prone to break down than western armaments...
19:37...like the Kalashnikov submachine gun, which functions in any conditions.
19:41But a nuclear missile is not a Kalashnikov.
19:48And the effects of aging can be disturbing.
19:52Right now, we have about 6,000 strategic nuclear warheads ready to go.
19:58But it's obvious that in the coming years...
20:01...the number's going to be decreased...
20:04...because a lot of the missiles that are today in operation are old ones...
20:09...going up to about more than 20 years old...
20:13...sitting in silos for more than 20 years...
20:16...and soon they'll have to be scrapped.
20:24It's more or less clear that something is going on within these missiles...
20:31...which serves 20 or even more years.
20:35Fortunately, until now, we have no any incidents and accidents with these missiles.
20:43But God knows what can happen in the nearest future.
20:48I think that given the terrible situation with Russian economy...
20:56...and terrible conditions with Russian military...
21:00...it's a miracle that nothing happened during the last 10 years...
21:04...after the Soviet collapse.
21:06However, unfortunately, it shouldn't be considered as a precedent...
21:12...that nothing happened in the future.
21:16The problems of Russia's aging missiles...
21:22...come to a focus here...
21:24...at the command center of the strategic missile forces...
21:27...just outside Moscow.
21:29I met the commander-in-chief...
21:41...four-star general Vladimir Yakovlev.
21:43From the depth of this hall...
21:45...the whole land wave is visible.
21:50How?
21:51This is so.
21:52This is so.
21:53This is so.
21:54The ability of the tools we control...
21:56...is able to see any point on the land wave.
22:02If there is a necessity.
22:06Despite General Yakovlev's confidence...
22:10...all the evidence suggests...
22:12...that Russia's ability to monitor the planet from space...
22:15...is steadily deteriorating.
22:17On at least two occasions...
22:19...false alarms brought the Russians to within minutes...
22:22...of ordering a full-scale nuclear strike.
22:25In September 1983...
22:35...a Soviet base received a satellite warning...
22:38...that five ballistic missiles...
22:40...were heading their way.
22:42The satellite...
22:45...had mistaken sunlight reflecting off clouds...
22:48...for the fiery plumes of ICBMs.
22:51The world was spared...
22:53...only because of the brave hunch...
22:55...of a single Russian officer.
23:05In January 1995...
23:07...Russian radar picked up the signal...
23:09...of a rocket which seemed to be heading toward Russia...
23:12...from an area patrolled by US Trident submarines.
23:18The alert spread all the way up the chain of command...
23:21...to President Yeltsin...
23:23...who was said to have taken out the nuclear suitcase...
23:26...used to authorize an all-out strike.
23:29The alert was called off...
23:31...with only two minutes to spare.
23:35The rocket was actually a Norwegian probe...
23:38...designed to study the Northern Lights.
23:41Since this 1995 incident...
23:44...Russia's entire early warning satellite network...
23:47...may have broken down...
23:49...in which case it would be dependent only...
23:51...on ground-based radar...
23:53...and blind to many potential attacks.
23:55Which means that Russian National Command authorities...
24:00...they would receive information...
24:03...about possible missile attack...
24:05...at a very late stage.
24:07They know that.
24:09And it makes them more nervous...
24:13...and they could much easier interpret...
24:17...a flight of birds as a missile attack.
24:21And as a result, the missiles could be launched.
24:27Some experts think...
24:28...that the major missile base at Svetli...
24:30...and even Moscow itself...
24:32...could be wiped out...
24:33...without the Russians receiving any warning.
24:36Nervous Russian military commanders...
24:40...have less and less information...
24:42...on which to base their decisions.
24:48The problem is...
24:50...authorized launch...
24:52...launch based on misinterpretation...
24:54...or miscalculation...
24:56...based on the wrong information.
24:58So the fly...
25:00...the missiles...
25:02...I doubt that they could fly by themselves.
25:05However...
25:07...Stanislavsky...
25:09...who was very famous...
25:11...Russian theater director...
25:13...he said...
25:14...if you have a rifle...
25:16...on a wall...
25:17...in a first act...
25:19...it is a guarantee...
25:21...that...
25:22...somebody would shoot from that...
25:24...in a fourth act.
25:26...
25:38For Colonel Petrovsky...
25:39...enjoying a picnic with friends...
25:40...on a rare day off...
25:41...there is no question...
25:43...that if that gun goes off...
25:45...it won't be by accident.
25:47He also knows...
25:50...it was Anton Chekhov...
25:51...not Stanislavsky...
25:52...who said that.
25:58The Colonel told me...
25:59...he had never met a foreigner...
26:00...before our film crew...
26:01...and he's never been allowed...
26:03...to travel...
26:04...outside the country.
26:05But...
26:07...despite these restrictions...
26:09...the endless hours on duty...
26:11...and the problems with pay...
26:13...the Colonel has no doubts...
26:14...about the commitment...
26:15...and morale...
26:16...of the Raketsiki.
26:21I would describe it this way...
26:27...A missileer is always on duty...
26:29...if a border guard...
26:33...protects the frontier...
26:34...of the country...
26:35...a missileer...
26:36...protects the entire country.
26:43In my youth...
26:44...I was attracted...
26:45...by military service...
26:46...I liked the idea...
26:47...of uniform.
26:48This was my first dream...
26:50...it has come true.
26:52It has come true.
27:15Now, Yevgeny Pavlov...
27:16...a child of the new Russia...
27:18...is beginning his career...
27:19...as a missile man...
27:20...with the same certainty.
27:29To be a missile forces man...
27:31...I think it's to guard the peace...
27:33...and keep the country stable...
27:34...because, after all...
27:36...nowadays, nuclear weapons...
27:38...are a deterrent.
27:39...so as long as we have...
27:49...nuclear weapons...
27:50...we'll be ready to fight...
27:51...as we are now.
27:52It's unlikely anyone...
27:53...will want to challenge us.
27:54Anyone will want to challenge us.
28:02But today's challenge...
28:03...to Russia's nuclear security...
28:04...lies closer to home.
28:09A string of bondings...
28:10...in Moscow and elsewhere...
28:11...has shocked the public...
28:12...and politicians...
28:13...into awareness...
28:14...of the mounting...
28:15...global threat of terrorism.
28:16This training exercise...
28:39...based on dealing...
28:40...with a terrorist attack...
28:41...once seemed...
28:42...like something...
28:43...out of an action movie.
28:44In today's Russia...
28:46...it could actually happen.
28:48The menace of international terrorism...
29:04...has put the missile defense forces...
29:06...on high alert...
29:07...against possible attacks...
29:08...on the silos.
29:18Not that the terrorists...
29:19...what will they say?
29:20The enemy's enemy's enemy...
29:21The enemy's enemy is so clear.
29:22Yes.
29:26That's it.
29:27On their way...
29:28...from the army's enemy's mission.
29:29Is that it?
29:31Is that it?
29:36After the terrorist actions...
29:37...today exercise has an alarming부분...
29:41...and by the way...
29:43...the enemy's enemy's community.
29:45Before every spell of duty in the missile launch centers, the Rakechiki undergo a series
30:03of psychological tests.
30:06The aim is to check their emotional state.
30:09Now, it's obvious that people with a finger on the nuclear trigger should be in full control
30:14of themselves, but I found the process somewhat bewildering.
30:21The first test is to define personality traits, and the second is not so much a test, rather
30:28to work out biorhythms.
30:34In assessing personal traits, and everyone knows it these days, it's been proved.
30:39On the basis of a person's attitude to color, one can determine not only their emotional
30:43state but also their qualities.
30:51As for biorhythms, a human being is influenced by various rhythms, the rhythm of the sun's
30:56movement, lunar movement, and so on.
31:04And these biorhythms, date of birth, the lunar phase at that time, the impact of the sun
31:08on the earth in that year, on that basis the biorhythms are constructed.
31:19The psychologist said that if the biorhythms were negative, whatever that means, she would
31:24use additional tests to assess a raketschik's fitness for duty, and I wanted to ask her if
31:30she used tarot cards, but I decided this was not the place for humor.
31:40This is essentially a man's world.
31:43Women are recruited, but only for support roles, such as communications.
32:01Unlike their American counterparts, the raketschiki have not accepted women for the ultimate duty
32:06of commanding missiles in the launch centers, and probably never will.
32:13In our country, any member of the rocket forces is, in the final analysis, also a commanding
32:18officer.
32:20He has subordinates, he has people he has to work with.
32:24If he is the boss, what's his attitude to the women?
32:30I don't want to see that there's prejudice towards them, that they're offended.
32:34But it's bound to disturb things, at least it would disturb things in launch control.
32:38And another thing, our missileers have duty periods lasting three to four days.
32:47For a woman, that's probably a bit difficult, although our Russian women can do anything.
32:54After all, women are programmed to preserve peace, the world around them, that's their
33:03natural foundation.
33:04Men are more programmed for destruction, for war, no matter how strange that is, no matter
33:13how sad.
33:15These may be children of the new Russia, but their indoctrination has a decidedly old-fashioned
33:16flavor.
33:17These may be children of the new Russia, but their indoctrination has a decidedly old-fashioned
33:24flavor.
33:25These may be children of the new Russia, but their indoctrination has a decidedly old-fashioned
33:40flavor.
33:42On their 40th anniversary, the Raketsiki commemorate their Memorial Day.
33:43On their 40th anniversary, the Raketsiki commemorate their Memorial Day.
33:44Colonel Petrovsky shares the story of the Russian army.
33:45On their 40th anniversary, the Raketsiki commemorate their Memorial Day.
33:51Colonel Petrovsky shares the story of his early years on the base with the new missileers.
34:04It's a little education in pride and honor, but for the first time in four decades, there
34:11is a new ingredient.
34:13Truth.
34:14In the cosmos, we won the sailors and the capacitors in a long time.
34:15We are ready to nervous, but we won the oluÅŸ.
34:16We are ready to have a good time.
34:17We are ready to take a hard time in theangen Tech.
34:18We can't be ready to be ready to go.
34:19Now, last week, we are ready to leave his early years on the base with the new missileers.
34:20It's a little education in pride and honor, but for the first time in four decades,
34:21there is a new ingredient — truth.
34:26Truth
34:43In 1960 a missile exploded during a test launch killing 92 people
34:49including Marshal Nadellen the first commander of the strategic missile forces
34:56the terrible accident had never before been admitted
35:00To many of the Raketsiki this admission comes as a revelation
35:12For this new crop of young officers it bears witness to a sometimes tragic but always heroic heritage
35:20For 22 years colonel Petrovsky has followed a successful and secure career on the base
35:32The newcomers face a less certain future
35:35Despite the insistence on tradition and continuity there is a clear break between the generations
35:52With the Cold War certainties gone and no replacement for the old Soviet beliefs
35:57The young and the old march to very different beats
36:15Today Russia sees itself threatened not by nuclear devastation but by guerrilla warfare
36:21While nuclear weapons are Russia's only remaining claim to superpower status
36:27The leadership realizes that the threat of terrorist groups can be defeated only by a modern conventional army
36:34But the Raketsiki consume almost three-quarters of Russia's military budget and big cuts are inevitable
36:41President Putin clearly decided to de-emphasize the role of nuclear weapons
36:55Because he realized that they cannot be used against clear and present dangers
37:00Like Chechnya or Taliban
37:02So that he clearly wanted to reduce spending on nuclear forces
37:10And invest more money into conventional deterrent
37:27Russia's economic crisis means that the military pie has become much smaller
37:32And the fight for the biggest slice much more bitter
37:37The defense minister
37:39A former missile commander who insisted that Russia must preserve its nuclear missile capability
37:45Was replaced
37:47The chief of the general staff
37:49Who argued for deep nuclear funding cuts to modernize conventional forces
37:54Was not
38:02The conventional forces became increasingly disrepair
38:09And while it's obvious that we're not fighting a war in America right now
38:13And no one's planning to
38:15But we're fighting a war in the Caucasus
38:18Against the Chechen rebels
38:20And the capabilities of the Russian conventional forces are almost all exhausted right now in Chechnya
38:27Without getting a clear-cut victory
38:29Russia faces potential problems not only with Chechnya
38:36We are not very certain about intentions of our Chinese friends
38:42We don't know what NATO would do
38:47In the foreseeable future
38:50Very popular idea here
38:52They bombed Iraq
38:54They bombed Yugoslavia
38:55And they did not bomb Russia during the Chechen war because Russia had nuclear weapons
39:05Russia faces enormous separatist problems
39:09And given 170,000 ground troops it is impossible
39:14To sustain any aggression
39:18By conventional means
39:19And in this unstable climate Russia has adopted an alarming new policy
39:32For the first time in our history we see that we can use nuclear weapons
39:42So that nuclear weapons which are still very strong
39:51Comparable to American nuclear arsenal
39:54It's a last guarantee for Russian security
39:58And based on nuclear weapons
39:59Our nuclear weapons
40:01It's the only mean which prevents
40:04Our friends our friends to invade or bomb Russia
40:08That's a perception here
40:10Right or wrong but that's perception
40:15The war memorial in the city of Saratov not far from the base
40:19Commemorates the death of some 300,000 people who defended that city in world war ii
40:25For Lieutenant Pavlov's generation it's history
40:30But for older Russians the memory of nearly 30 million people killed is very real
40:38The horrors of the second world war were quickly followed by the cold war with its nightmare nuclear standoff
40:45Last Friday in Moscow we witnessed the beginning of the end of that era which began in 1945
40:56We took the first step toward a new era of mutually agreed restraint and arms limitation between the two principal nuclear powers
41:05In 1972 both superpowers signed the abm treaty which severely limited the development of any defense against nuclear missiles
41:16They put their faith in the uneasy balance of terror called mad mutually assured destruction
41:2920 years later with the end of the cold war the superpowers began dismantling their huge nuclear stockpiles
41:37Desperate to cut back on nuclear spending russia has destroyed hundreds of silos with the help of american funding
41:45In the first months of his presidency
41:50George w bush reduced that funding and declared his intentions to ignore the abm treaty and create a national missile defense
42:02As the first test of the missile shield system went ahead tensions between america and russia rose
42:08The united states was accused of taking advantage of russia's weakness
42:11Then came the terrorist attacks on new york city and washington dc
42:16And suddenly relations between george w bush
42:21And vladimir putin shifted again this time for the better
42:24Although the administration has said it still wants to go ahead with the missile shield
42:29A new era of strategic collaboration between russia and the u.s against terrorism seems to lie ahead
42:37It is in this swiftly changing situation that russia could be tempted to deploy the new topol m missile
42:43To date the topples are armed with just 30 of russia's 6 000 warheads
42:53But president bush's plan for an anti-missile screen have given the topple a new relevance
43:03Designed in the 1980s in response to president reagan's star wars missile defense
43:09The topple flies low to evade space-based attack
43:12And sends out a scatter of decoys to fool enemy warning systems
43:22Despite the thaw in relations between russia and the united states
43:25There remains a threat that the scrapping of the abm treaty could set off a new chapter of the old cold war arms race
43:34Without an american abm system the topple well is doesn't have any meaning in it
43:41It's just a ballistic missile. It's not
43:44Actually much better than any other ballistic missile its main features
43:49Will really be important when there is an abm system with which it could penetrate
43:54So actually for the designers of the topple
43:57It's better that the united states quickly proceed to create an abm system
44:02Because that would mean then the russian generals who were pressing for topple to be deployed
44:08Already for several years will say you see that we were right
44:11As it often happened in the cold war on military industrial complexes of two countries of russia and the united states
44:20Are sort of helping each other out all the time
44:37Because without one has no sense without the other
44:44For his work on testing the topple emm at svetly colonel petrovsky was given an award by russia's minister of defense
44:51Thank you very much
45:04Rousing music and a well-drilled parade precede every spell of duty
45:08But they can't conceal the grim fact that the roketchiki could be heading off
45:15To unleash nuclear devastation
45:18They're considered the most sort of battle ready part of the russian military
45:24They say that they can send their rockets up
45:27To go to the united states britain or china or elsewhere on the globe
45:34In about two minutes after receiving orders from the general staff in moscow
45:38For more than 30 years russia's roketchiki have headed off for the missile fields
45:53Without ever having to do the ultimate job of turning the nuclear keys
45:57But ask them if with the passing of years and the fading of old animosities
46:06It's all just routine
46:09And they will tell you that they're as ready as they always were
46:14Just as ready
46:19We have no right to lower the level of our war alertness
46:24As defined by the president the minister of defense and the commander-in-chief
46:30The targeting and the precise functioning of the weapons have to remain at the necessary level
46:35Despite the passing of decades
46:47Svetli's 20 missile launch control centers are scattered across the barren steppes for miles around the base
46:54Just 350 raketschiki have the ultimate responsibility of launching the missiles
47:02Command post 97690 is a launch control center for the new topple-m missiles
47:08Command Post 97690 is a launch control center
47:23for the new Topol-M missiles.
47:30It is inconspicuously located in the countryside,
47:34about an hour's bumpy ride from Svetli Base.
47:38During each three-day spell of duty,
47:40this will be the Roketschiki Command Center and temporary home.
48:00This luxurious refuge for the off-duty Roketschiki
48:04had never before been visited by foreigners,
48:06so it clearly was not built to impress us.
48:15From here, two-man crews go out to the underground launch centers
48:19where they serve rotating six-hour shifts,
48:22keeping watch over the Topol-M missiles.
48:25The ten Topols commanded by this control center
48:40are poised in remote silos
48:43connected by networks of underground cables.
48:45Multiply the Hiroshima bomb by 350,
48:54and you get the total power
48:56packed into the nuclear punch of those ten missiles.
48:59The launch centers for the older SS-18 and SS-19 missiles,
49:12with their network of subterranean tunnels,
49:14have a menacing feel.
49:15At least, that's how it seemed to me
49:23as I followed a two-man crew
49:25on their way to the launch capsules
49:27buried deep enough to withstand
49:29a direct nuclear strike.
49:31Over the years, the working routines
49:40of the Roketschiki have never changed.
49:43They ceaselessly check the readiness
49:44of the missiles under their control.
49:49The missiles are not currently targeted,
49:52but they can be aimed in minutes
49:54by commanders in Moscow.
49:58The Roketschiki would never know
50:00where their missiles are heading.
50:05For Lieutenant Pavlov,
50:07the ultimate challenge lies
50:09at the end of the tunnel,
50:11the unthinkable moment
50:12so often rehearsed in the simulator.
50:16Attention, calculation.
50:18We have a request for the launch of the rocket.
50:20The request of the request is 16.52.
50:23The request is prepared
50:24to be a joint action
50:25for the launch of the rocket.
50:27Yes.
50:27The report, attention.
50:29Launch.
50:37First, 16.52.
50:40The launch began
50:41from all the rocket launchers
50:42from the rocket corps.
50:44The report is accepted.
50:46Of course, nuclear weapons are...
50:50There's no question
50:50that nuclear missiles
50:51are not weapons of war.
50:53They are political weapons
50:54to solve problems.
50:57And these political weapons
51:03are still too significant
51:04in resolving disputes and conflicts.
51:08We must follow the path
51:09of reducing nuclear weapons,
51:11but making that reduction
51:12in a way which will preserve
51:14the current strategic stability
51:16and keep the strategic stability.
51:17It has kept the strategic stability.
51:23But for all the geopolitics,
51:25the job of the rocket-чики
51:27comes down to one act,
51:29as simple as it is unthinkable.
51:31I think at the moment
51:49when the order comes,
51:50I won't even spare a thought
51:51whether to carry it out or not.
51:53I will carry it out.
51:54Maybe thoughts will come afterwards,
51:57but when the order comes,
51:58I will carry it out
51:59at once.
52:03Sometimes I've had thoughts about it,
52:09but you can't think about that
52:10all the time.
52:11So after a while,
52:12it recedes into the background.
52:13But when you're on duty,
52:18when you sit at the control console
52:20next to the key,
52:22then of course you realize
52:23what power you hold in your hands,
52:25how many victims,
52:26how many cities would be destroyed,
52:28how many people would die.
52:31But if an order is given,
52:33it will be carried out.
52:35And only after it has been carried out
52:37will the missileer start thinking
52:38about what he has done.
52:40But the job will be done,
52:41100%.
52:42The job will be done,
52:44100%.
53:12How did Nova gain access
53:26to the command and control center
53:28of Russia's largest missile base?
53:30Find out on Nova's website
53:32at pbs.org
53:34or America Online keyword PBS.
53:36To order this show
53:56or any other Nova program
53:58for $19.95 plus shipping and handling,
54:01call WGBH Boston Video
54:03at 1-800-255-9424.
54:09Next time on Nova,
54:11germ warfare.
54:12I don't know what's going on.
54:13This is a perfect weapon
54:15for Osama Bin Laden.
54:16Do they have what it takes to make one?
54:19Do we have what it takes to survive?
54:21Nova and the New York Times
54:23reveal the untold story,
54:25bioterror.
54:26Nova is a production of WGBH Boston.
54:43Major funding for Nova is provided by
54:46The Park Foundation,
54:48dedicated to education
54:49and quality television.
54:51Science.
54:56It's given us the framework
54:58to help make wireless communications clear.
55:03Sprint PCS is proud to support Nova.
55:08This program is funded in part
55:10by the Northwestern Mutual Foundation.
55:13Some people already know
55:15Northwestern Mutual can help plan
55:17for your children's education.
55:19Are you there yet?
55:19Northwestern Mutual Financial Network.
55:23And by
55:24the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
55:26and by contributions
55:28to your PBS station
55:29from viewers like you.
55:36This is PBS.
55:38All of these things are trying to come
56:07together here.
56:08This energy is everywhere.
56:10Of course, the trick is to find it.
56:11Empty space is not so empty.
56:14It's a radical.
56:15You can never put the genie back in the box.
56:33It's okay.
56:37The purpose is to find it.
56:42I already know.
56:43I already know.
56:4415
56:57It depends.
56:57I think hai
56:58you
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