Russia is currently estimated to have about 6,000 strategic nuclear warheads plus 4,000 tactical nuclear weapons. It should be noted, however, that estimates of Russia's tactical nuclear arsenal vary widely, ranging upwards to 15,000 when estimates include weapons waiting dismantlement.

Although Russia has made dramatic reductions in its nuclear forces since the end of the Cold War, a major limiting factor in the pace of reductions has been the funding to destroy systems. Russia has taken control of all nuclear weapons stationed in the former-Soviet republics, particularly the strategic weapons formerly deployed in Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and Belarus. For economic reasons, Russia's strategic nuclear arsenal is likely to decline to fewer than 2,000 warheads by 2015, according to U.S. intelligence estimates.

Declines have been particularly dramatic in Russia's SSBN fleet. In 1990 Russia had 62 SSBNs; today there are 17 operational subs. Though there are supposedly plans to deploy new Borey-class subs within four years, construction has been suspended since 1998.

Russia continues to conduct test launches of its intercontinental ballistic missiles and to replace some missiles. The SS-25 Topol (with the new M variant sometimes called the SS-27) mobile single warhead is currently being deployed. However, the sum total of Russian ICBMs will continue its swift decline. Russia has three bombers with a nuclear mission: 29 Tu-95 MS6s (Bear H6s), 34 Tu-95 MS16s (Bear H16s), and 15 Tu-160s (Blackjacks).

The START II treaty limits Russia and the United States to 3,500 strategic, deployed warheads. In his November 2000, agreement with Bush, Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to reduce Russia's strategic nuclear arsenal to between 1,500 and 2,200 - a change fiscal necessity would likely have caused even without U.S. cuts. This reduction may be imperiled by the U.S. plan to move most of the nuclear weapons taken out of the active stockpile into a reserve stockpile, where they could easily be rearmed. The START treaties do not restrict tactical or reserve weapons. Russia will likely retain approximately 3,000 tactical warheads, in addition to an unknown number of reserve weapons.

Russian nuclear weapons are deployed at about 90 sites in Russia.

~6,000

~4,000

~10,000