Disarmament Diplomacy

Issue No. 56, April 2001

Putin Appoints New Defence, Atomic Energy Ministers

As part of a Cabinet reshuffle announced on March 28, Russian President Vladimir Putin appointed Sergei Ivanov, the Secretary of the Presidential Security Council, as the country's first civilian Defence Minister. Ivanov - who was a Lieutenant-General in the armed forces until November 2000 - replaces General Igor Sergeyev. Another civilian, Deputy Finance Minister Lyubov Kudelina, was appointed Deputy Defence Minister, the first woman to hold a senior political position in the Ministry. Putin described the appointments as "a step toward demilitarising Russia's political life", adding: "While conducting military reform it's necessary to appoint a civilian to the job of Defence Minister. The time has come for personnel changes, which would be a logical conclusion of the modernization of the military structure."

In another key appointment, long-time Minister of Atomic Energy Yevgeny Adamov was replaced by Alexander Rumyantsev, a physicist from the Kurchatov Institute in Moscow. Adamov had been strongly criticised both outside Russia and by arms control groups inside the country for an alleged willingness to place economic concerns above strict adherence to non-proliferation norms. According to a March 28 press release from the Center for Policy Studies in Russia (PIR Center), Adamov "neglected well-known axioms. Under demagogical disguise of statements on the 'importance of non-proliferation', he expedited nuclear deals, some of which ran counter to Russian national interests and international commitments." The press release elaborated:

"For instance, in October 2000, during Putin's visit to India, Yevgeny Adamov lobbied [for a positive] decision on supplying New Delhi with 58 tons of uranium dioxide for a nuclear power plant in Tarapur. This deal had only limited commercial appeal, but it undermined Russia's political positions, since it was an evident violation of Moscow's obligations as a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group. Minatom's lawyers had to provide legal support for [the] activities of their boss and hastily sought judicial grounds for the initiative. Nonetheless, at the NSG meeting in December all member states, except Belarus, denounced Russian steps. ... Minister Adamov, however, went further, and in December 2000 he declared in public on behalf of Russia that Moscow might withdraw from the NSG and other international export control regimes 'if current restrictions concerning co-operation in peaceful nuclear energy uses are not modified.'"

Shortly before his removal from office, Adamov was quoted by Agence France Presse (March 20) again voicing concern at the nuclear export restrictions faced by Russia's membership in the NSG, and even the NPT. According to the report, Adamov stated that both regimes were causing "serious harm to the economic interests" of the country, which could potentially "force it out of Asian markets." Adamov continued: "We have received more orders for the construction of nuclear reactors than the world's major companies... No one in the world has managed to make an atomic bomb from a nuclear reactor."

Reports: Russia could withdraw from CTBT - Minister, Agence France Presse, March 20; Russia's Putin makes Cabinet changes, Associated Press, March 28; Putin names civilians to top security posts, Reuters, March 28; Adamov's dismissal is a good sign for nuclear non-proliferation, PIR Center Press Release, March 28.