Russian Views on Strategic Deterrence
Kristin Ven Bruusgaard

February 10, 2016

As part of the ongoing Nuclear Crossroads Initiative, the Center for Global Security Research (CGSR) is sponsoring a talk by Kristin Ven Bruusgaard, entitled “Russian Views on Strategic Deterrence.” Following the lecture there will be a question and answer session. This is open to the Laboratory.

Russia’s current nuclear policy is best understood within the so-called Russian “System of strategic deterrence” which includes both nuclear and non-nuclear, military and non-military tools. These tools should be employed in times of peace or war in order to persuade any “potential adversary that they have no chance of achieving their military or political goals by using force.” This broad deterrence concept is seemingly intended as a means to deal with any and every security challenge, at varying threat levels; a notion that entails significant risks for misrepresentation and misinterpretation.

Kristin Ven Bruusgaard is a Research Fellow at the Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies (IFS), and a Ph.D. student at King's College London. Her Ph.D. research is on Russian nuclear strategy formulation and civil-military relations. She has previously worked as a senior advisor on Russian security policy with the Norwegian Armed Forces, as a researcher with the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment, and with the Congressional Research Service in Washington, DC.

Russian Views on Strategic Deterrence

The Center for Global Security Research (CGSR) sponsored this seminar entitled "Russian Views on Strategic Deterrence" on Feb. 10, 2016, at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The seminar was presented by Kristin Ven Bruusgaard.

LLNL-VIDEO-690897