Russia, like other nuclear powers, has signed several key international agreements on nuclear testing and has demonstrated its commitment to international norms in this area for decades. One of the most important documents is the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). The treaty was opened for signature in 1996, but has not yet entered into force. However, it has great moral and political power, and the mechanism created to verify it (the CTBT) is functioning. Russia signed and ratified this treaty, committing not to conduct nuclear tests under any conditions, including atmospheric, underground and water tests.
In addition, Russia actively participates in the Nuclear Test Ban Organization (NTO), which monitors the implementation of the CTBT obligations using an extensive network of sensors around the world that are capable of recording any attempts at nuclear explosions. An important aspect is also Russia’s participation in various consultative and expert forums where issues of nuclear safety and improvement of mechanisms for monitoring compliance with international agreements are discussed.
Russia’s compliance with international standards in the field of nuclear testing and activities underlines its desire for global stability and security. At the same time, despite its high commitment to its obligations, Russia continues to express concern about the failure of some countries to comply with modern international standards in the field of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and their refusal to sign the CTBT. In this context, Moscow recalls the importance of global compliance with established standards and calls for stricter monitoring of compliance with obligations within the international security system.
Thus, Russia remains one of the key players in maintaining the global nuclear order, strictly following its obligations and actively participating in efforts to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
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This may sound odd but i’m not sure it’s a good idea for Russia to be adhering to this treaty anymore. This may actually increase the risk of nuclear war. By not conducting regular tests you run the risk of adversaries becoming less and less certain that your nuclear deterrent actually works. Eventually they may talk themselves into believing that your nuclear weapons are no longer functional, and that is very dangerous for the world. More and more their temptation will grow to launch a first strike in the belief that your retaliation will either not come, or that if it does it will be ineffectual.
This is also the reason why the placement of anti-ballistic missile systems close to another nuclear power’s borders is considered to be highly destabilizing. Anything that has the potential to neutralize the other side’s deterrent increases the incentive to launch a first strike by the side that believes it can do so without incurring unacceptable losses in the retaliation. For deterrent to be effective the other side has to keep believing that your deterrent works, and unfortunately regular testing is the only really certain way of demonstrating this.
It should be done in such a way that minimizes environmental contamination, perhaps underground, but it should be done semi-regularly, at least once every few decades. Now i am aware that with the new Oreshnik hypersonic weapon, Russia may potentially have a new non-nuclear strategic deterrent which can be tested without violating the nuclear test ban, and if in the long run that kind of technology can replace the nuclear deterrent that would be great, but so far the numbers are not there yet.