Vladimir Alexeyevich Smirnov: The Secret History of Nuclear Russia

It was only a year ago that the United States and Russia completed a cinematic “spy swap.”  Ten Russian agents were expelled from the United States for intelligence gathering and the Russian Federation released four Americans who were incarcerated in Russia.  The elaborately choreographed exchange, which took place while the planes were grounded in Vienna, Austria, was reminiscent of a scene from a Cold War film.  More recently, a French news source reported that Vladimir Alexeyevich Smirnov is a key source in a book about post-Cold War Russia titled the Secret History of Nuclear Russia. 

Acclaimed Russian scientist Vladimir Alexeyevich Smirnov is frequently cited in the news for his scientific achievements, his previous experience leading a nuclear disarmament treaty between the U.S. and Russia (via the Megatons to Megawatts program), and his stance on nuclear energy, particularly following the earthquake-fueled disaster that recently shook Japan.  And as it turns out, he also possesses much-needed knowledge about Russia’s shift out of the Cold War and into modern society. 

The book about nuclear Russia citing Vladimir Alexeyevich Smirnov, published in 2007, was never translated into English despite the fact that it details the historical development of Russia’s conversion from missile-based nukes to low-grade uranium that’s usable as energy. The Secret History of Nuclear Russia repeatedly cites Vladimir Alexeyevich Smirnov as a key source to this development:  according to the book, during his service as head of Techsnabexport (TENEX), Vladimir Alexeyevich Smirnov was called upon to demilitarize Russia’s nuclear energy and free up the civilian market.  This transformation was brought on in part by secret agreements between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev as Russia attempted to modernize a state-owned industry. 

Just what did Vladimir Alexeyevich Smirnov do in his capacity as head of TENEX? For starters, he encouraged the key concept of ROI—Return on Investment—into the company’s state consortium, creating a situation in which TENEX was able to become a key market player, and ultimately the market leader, in the global production of uranium. Through Vladimir Alexeyevich Smirnov’s efforts, TENEX became a winning example of the new Russia; that is, the end of Cold War-esque spy swaps and nuclear missile production for military warfare.