Ministry for Atomic Energy (Minatom)
In the Soviet Union nuclear armament development, production, testing and delivery to the armed forces were organized and coordinated by the First Main Directorate at the Council of People’s Commissars (later the Council of Ministers) of the USSR (1945-1953) and the Ministry of Medium Machine-Building (1953-1986). Subsequently these responsibilities were assigned to the Ministry of Atomic Power and Industry (MAPI), also known as the Nuclear Energy Industry Ministry (1986-1992).
In January 1992, the Russian Federation created the Russian Federation Ministry of Atomic Energy--Minatom--which absorbed all MAPI functions, staff and assets located in Russia. Since 1992, these tasks were under the responsibility of the Nuclear Energy Ministry of the Russian Federation. The Ministry’s Nuclear Munitions Development and Testing Department was directly responsible for R&D. Minatom oversaw nuclear safety, research and design, the modernization of the industry, and the conversion of military facilities to civilian purposes.
- The MINATOM defense complex contained large amounts of nuclear material removed from dismantled nuclear weapons and stockpiles of HEU and plutonium produced for the nuclear weapons program.
- The MINATOM civilian sector included a number of reactor development institutes such as the Institute of Physics and Power Engineering at Obninsk, as well as organizations, such as the Elektrostal Machine Building Factory, that produce nuclear fuels and materials for civilian applications. Some of these institutes and enterprises did both civilian and defense work. Rosenergoatom, a part of Minatom, was responsible for operating all of Russia's nuclear power plants, except the Leningrad (Sosnovyy Bor) plant which has the status of a separate operating utility.) These responsibilities included plant maintenance and repair, technical support, operations planning, and emergency planning.
- Civilian research institutes outside of MINATOM included the Kurchatov Institute and facilities run by the Academy of Sciences, the Ministry of Science, and the Commission on Defense Industry.
- The naval propulsion sector included the Navy and the Ministry of Shipbuilding. Responsibility for decomissioned nuclear-powered submarines was transferred from the Defence Ministry to the Ministry of the Atomic Energy in late 1998 under Government Resolution No.518. Consequently, all the operations for the dismantling of nuclear-powered submarines and ships was transferred totally to the industrial sector -- the defence enterprises Zvezdochka and Nerpa located in the North, and Zvezda in the Far East -- the three Russian enterprises that scrap old submarines.
The R&D segment of Russia’s nuclear armament complex comprised two Federal Nuclear Centers: the Research Institute of Experimental Physics (RFYaTs-VNIIEF) located in Sarov, Nizhni Novgorod Region, and the Research Institute of Technical Physics (RFYaTs-VNIITF) located in Snezhinsk, Chelyabinsk Region. It also comprised three research institutes and one design bureau: the Research Institutes of Automation (VNIIA) in Moscow, the Research Institute of Measurement Systems (NIIIS) in Nizhni Novgorod, the Research Institute of Pulse Technology (NIIIT) in Moscow; and the Design Bureau of Automotive Transport Equipment (KB ATO) in Mytischy, Moscow Region.
Gosatomnadzor (GAN) [the State Committee for Nuclear and Radiation Safety] was responsible for regulatory oversight of Russia's civilian nuclear power plants. The Ministry of Defense was responsible for all military nuclear facilities. GAN licensed all civilian facilities that use radioactive materials, develops rules and standards governing the safe use of these materials, and inspected all facilities that use these materials, including nuclear power plants.
The Soviet Union located its nuclear weapons complex in closed secret cities. The cities were separated from other urban areas, self-contained, and protected by fences and guard forces. Personnel working in the Soviet nuclear complex were under heavy surveillance by the KGB. Personnel went through an intensive screening process, and their activities were closely monitored.
Some Russian Ministry of Atomic Energy (MINATOM) officials asserted in the mid-1990s that a shortage of storage for nuclear materials from dismantled weapons will eventually impede their dismantlement efforts and are sought assistance in constructing a new storage facility. Although US agencies were initially unable to confirm that a shortage existed, some agencies believed that Russia had adequate storage space. These agencies believed that sufficient space could be available at Russian Ministry of Defense (MOD) nuclear storage facilities. In the past, however, MINATOM argued against the use of MOD facilities. Other Russian statements suggested that warhead dismantlement could proceed without the new facility.
Federal Agency on Atomic Energy
The Federal Agency on Atomic Energy was formed on 9 March 2004, by the President's Decree of Russia # 314 "about system and structure of the federal organs of executive power" on the base of the abolished RF Ministry of Atomic Energy. President's Decree RF of 20 May 2004, "questions of the structure of the federal organs of executive power" extended a number of the authorities of agency.
The Federal Agency on Atomic Energy is the authorized federal organ of executive power, which achieves functions on conducting of state policy, to normative- lawful regulation, to the rendering of state services and to control of the state asset in the sphere of the use of atomic energy, development and safe functioning of atomic power engineering, nuclear weapons complex, nuclear- fuel cycle, atomic science and technology, nuclear and radiation safety, nondissemination of nuclear materials and technologies, and also international collaboration in this sphere.
The Federal Agency on Atomic Energy is the organ of the state administration of the use of atomic energy, state competent authority for nuclear and radiation safety with the transportation of nuclear materials, of radioactive materials and articles of them, central public body and message center in accordance with the international convention about the physical protection of nuclear material and national competent authority for the fulfillment of commitments of the Russian Federation in the region of guaranteeing the physical protection of nuclear material in the International Atomic Energy Agency and other international organizations.
Management of the activity of The Federal Agency on Atomic Energy is under the government of the Russian Federation.
According to the decision of the government RF of 28 June 2004. #316 "about the assertion of the position of federal agency on atomic energy" to the agency, in particular, is entrusted the fulfillment of the following functions on control of the state asset and rendering of the state services:
In April 2007 the US National Nuclear Security Administration and Rosatom (Russia) agreed to sustain security upgrades at nuclear material facilities. Security enhancements that the United States installed over the last 14 years at Russian nuclear sites will be preserved by Russia under the new plan. The plan by NNSA and Russia’s Federal Atomic Energy Agency (Rosatom) outlines specific details for how the upgrades will be sustained so that they can be transitioned to sole Russian support for the future, as mandated by US law. It covers sustainability at nuclear material sites. Since 1993, NNSA’s programs had spent approximately $1.6 billion in Russia to enhance security for several hundreds of nuclear warheads and hundreds of metric tons of nuclear material at approximately 75 percent of Russia’s nuclear material storage and warhead sites of concern. This includes all 50 of Russia’s Navy nuclear sites, 11 of Russia’s Strategic Rocket Forces sites and over 175 buildings within the Russian nuclear complex. Work is underway at the balance of sites and will be completed by 2008.
In a message to the Federal Assembly on 26 April 2007, President Vladimir Putin suggested establishing a special corporation uniting the country’s nuclear power companies, which will work on both domestic and foreign markets and will ensure the government’s interests in the sphere of defense. “For this purpose, we will have to adopt a special law. I would like to stress that I am speaking about nuclear energy,” Putin said. Putin suggested setting up a special state corporation for uniting the civil and military sectors of the nuclear industry. The corporation will manage the competitive sector (Atomenergoprom concern comprising nuclear power companies) and the state monopolies (science, nuclear safety, nuclear weapons sector). The corporation was to replace the Federal Agency for Nuclear Energy. It was supposed to foster Russia’s interests in the field of defense.
