ABSTRACT
WHAT ARE THE STRATEGIC ROCKET FORCES?
In an 'encyclopaedic dictionary' published to commemorate their 40th anniversary, the Strategic Rocket Forces (RVSN) define themselves thus:
The Strategic Rocket Forces are a service branch of the armed forces of the Russian Federation, the central part of the strategic nuclear forces (SNF). Created in accordance with the decree of the USSR's Council of Ministers dated 17 December 1959, RVSN's predetermined [tasks] include: to put into effect measures of nuclear deterrence during the threat of aggression, or during the course of a war using conventional weapons of destruction… in the event of a nuclear war, to destroy strategic objects forming the basis of the enemy's military and military-economic potential; to repel an enemy's nuclear-missile and space-missile attack; to secure the actions of groups of the armed forces at all stages of the conduct and escalation of military conflicts. Basic means and capabilities of RVSN: enormous strike power; high combat readiness; the ability to carry out combat duties in the shortest possible time; unlimited reach and great accuracy in striking at enemy targets; the capability to secretly prepare and launch a nuclear-missile strike under any weather… conditions; RVSN's great survivability includes the central organs of military combat and control, combat units of Space Missile Defence… the combat units and institutions involved in the control and launch of space apparatus, scientific-research organs and military-research establishments.1
