• Military

• WMD Menu                           

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Analysis: Russia's Nuclear Power

Council on Foreign Relations

November 2, 2007
Author: Toni Johnson

Before Chernobyl, history’s worst civilian nuclear accident, Soviet planners “dreamed of mobile nuclear power stations” (CSMonitor). Now a floating version of that vision, slated to begin construction (CNN) next year, is just one of twenty-six nuclear plants breaking ground in Russia, which aims to double nuclear power’s share of its electricity grid by 2030. Moscow also proposes towing floating plants to Persian Gulf state harbors as a power source for water desalination plants. One commentator for the state-run Russian Information Agency contends the floating plants would reduce (RIA Novosti) the spread of nuclear technology since such transactions would focus on selling power rather than the plants themselves. But Russian environmental activist Vladimir Slivyak argues (CSMonitor) the floating platforms pose a “clear risk of proliferation” and “will need to be protected by warships.”

Taking its vast nuclear complex to market is Russia’s latest foray as an energy superpower. Russia hopes to sell sixty nuclear power plants of various types worldwide and already builds more conventional nuclear plants for other countries than anyone else. Customers include China, India, and more controversially, Iran. Following the shelving of a deal between India and the United States for nuclear technology and fuel, one Indian columnist noted that instead of wasting time on the United States the Indian government could have “already worked out a deal with close ally Russia” (Central Chronicle).

With half the world’s enrichment capacity located in Russia, the government is “positioning Russian fuel-services companies to benefit” should the global use of nuclear power grow significantly—targeting up to 20 percent (Oxford Analytica) of the global market. Moscow also recently proposed a new multinational enrichment facility in Siberia and is looking for (IANS) international partners.

Read the rest of this article on the cfr.org website.

Copyright 2007 by the Council on Foreign Relations. This material is republished on GlobalSecurity.org with specific permission from the cfr.org. Reprint and republication queries for this article should be directed to cfr.org.