War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Interview with Evgeny Velikhov, 1986
Description:
Evgeny Velikhov trained as a theoretical physicist, beginning his career in the early 1960s. He was the Founder and director of the Soviet Nuclear Safety Institute; Vice president of the Soviet/Russian Academy of Science, and Founder of the Committee of Soviet Scientists for Peace and Against the Nuclear Threat. He begins by asserting that the Krasnoyarsk radar was designed for observing space objects and verifying arms agreements. He denies that the USSR is engaged in any kind of anti-satellite work, and offers his views on whether the total elimination of nuclear weapons is possible. He also disagrees with the proposition that Reagan was thrown off by proposals from Gorbachev that were perceived to be impractical. SDI, in his view, is a complex and "contradictory" phenomenon that, among other things, could theoretically become an offensive system. He believes the Americans and Soviets see the basic issues in the same way but has the opinion that group interests play a part in the U.S. but not in the USSR. On matters of testing, his argument is that economic and ideological factors are influencing the Reagan administration in the direction of continuing the arms race. The Soviets are not trying to expand their superiority in conventional weapons, he contends, (and he challenges the presumption of superiority), rather they are trying to reduce all armaments levels, noting that conventional arms are extremely costly.
