{"id":{"repo_id":"mo-state","oai_identifier":"oai:bearworks.missouristate.edu:theses-2404"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/mo-state/oai:bearworks.missouristate.edu:theses-2404","repository":{"repo_id":"mo-state","name":"Missouri State University","base_url":"https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/do/oai/"},"display":{"title":"Russia's Strategic Nuclear Weapons Programs and Their Role in Russian Grand Strategy","abstract":"Russia’s current geopolitical state of affairs has produced an increased awareness of security threats that present obstacles for Vladimir Putin and the Russian state. As a result of its perceived vulnerabilities, Russia is using the beginning of the twenty first century as a period to reestablish its superpower status through fifth generation nuclear technology. Given Russia’s geography, history, and the current political climate, and the fact that it possesses the largest nuclear arsenal on the planet, there are numerous inherent risks for the West in disparaging Russia as a country incapable of attaining the goals it sets for itself in this century. This thesis first summarizes Russian grand strategy and then links it to the future of Russia’s nuclear weapons programs. It seeks to forecast the role nuclear weapons will serve in restoring Russia’s power and status in the twenty-first century. In short, this is a limited assessment of Russia’s vulnerabilities compared with its realistic capabilities. The overall objective of this thesis is three-fold: first to establish Russia’s grand strategy goals; second, to assess Russia’s strategic weapons programs; and lastly to explore the new ways that nuclear weapons will aid in carrying out Russia’s grand strategy in the twenty-first century.","abstract_html":"Russia’s current geopolitical state of affairs has produced an increased awareness of security threats that present obstacles for Vladimir Putin and the Russian state. As a result of its perceived vulnerabilities, Russia is using the beginning of the twenty first century as a period to reestablish its superpower status through fifth generation nuclear technology. Given Russia’s geography, history, and the current political climate, and the fact that it possesses the largest nuclear arsenal on the planet, there are numerous inherent risks for the West in disparaging Russia as a country incapable of attaining the goals it sets for itself in this century. This thesis first summarizes Russian grand strategy and then links it to the future of Russia’s nuclear weapons programs. It seeks to forecast the role nuclear weapons will serve in restoring Russia’s power and status in the twenty-first century. In short, this is a limited assessment of Russia’s vulnerabilities compared with its realistic capabilities. The overall objective of this thesis is three-fold: first to establish Russia’s grand strategy goals; second, to assess Russia’s strategic weapons programs; and lastly to explore the new ways that nuclear weapons will aid in carrying out Russia’s grand strategy in the twenty-first century.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Wenk, Daniel A."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science in Defense and Strategic Studies","degree_level":"Masters","degree_discipline":"Defense and Strategic Studies","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["William Van Cleave"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2005,"date_issued":"2005-07-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2005-07-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:16:37Z","subjects":["Russia","grand strategy","nuclear weapons","military doctrine","technology","Defense and Security Studies"],"languages":[],"rights":["© Daniel A. Wenk"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/1403","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["William Van Cleave"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Wenk, Daniel A."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Defense and Strategic Studies"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science in Defense and Strategic Studies"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Russia","grand strategy","nuclear weapons","military doctrine","technology","Defense and Security Studies"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["© Daniel A. Wenk"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/1403"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Russia’s current geopolitical state of affairs has produced an increased awareness of security threats that present obstacles for Vladimir Putin and the Russian state. As a result of its perceived vulnerabilities, Russia is using the beginning of the twenty first century as a period to reestablish its superpower status through fifth generation nuclear technology. Given Russia’s geography, history, and the current political climate, and the fact that it possesses the largest nuclear arsenal on the planet, there are numerous inherent risks for the West in disparaging Russia as a country incapable of attaining the goals it sets for itself in this century. This thesis first summarizes Russian grand strategy and then links it to the future of Russia’s nuclear weapons programs. It seeks to forecast the role nuclear weapons will serve in restoring Russia’s power and status in the twenty-first century. In short, this is a limited assessment of Russia’s vulnerabilities compared with its realistic capabilities. The overall objective of this thesis is three-fold: first to establish Russia’s grand strategy goals; second, to assess Russia’s strategic weapons programs; and lastly to explore the new ways that nuclear weapons will aid in carrying out Russia’s grand strategy in the twenty-first century."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Russia's Strategic Nuclear Weapons Programs and Their Role in Russian Grand Strategy"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["William Van Cleave"],"dc:creator":["Wenk, Daniel A."],"dc:description.abstract":["Russia’s current geopolitical state of affairs has produced an increased awareness of security threats that present obstacles for Vladimir Putin and the Russian state. As a result of its perceived vulnerabilities, Russia is using the beginning of the twenty first century as a period to reestablish its superpower status through fifth generation nuclear technology. Given Russia’s geography, history, and the current political climate, and the fact that it possesses the largest nuclear arsenal on the planet, there are numerous inherent risks for the West in disparaging Russia as a country incapable of attaining the goals it sets for itself in this century. This thesis first summarizes Russian grand strategy and then links it to the future of Russia’s nuclear weapons programs. It seeks to forecast the role nuclear weapons will serve in restoring Russia’s power and status in the twenty-first century. In short, this is a limited assessment of Russia’s vulnerabilities compared with its realistic capabilities. The overall objective of this thesis is three-fold: first to establish Russia’s grand strategy goals; second, to assess Russia’s strategic weapons programs; and lastly to explore the new ways that nuclear weapons will aid in carrying out Russia’s grand strategy in the twenty-first century."],"dc:identifier":["https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/1403"],"dc:rights":["© Daniel A. Wenk"],"dc:subject":["Russia","grand strategy","nuclear weapons","military doctrine","technology","Defense and Security Studies"],"dc:title":["Russia's Strategic Nuclear Weapons Programs and Their Role in Russian Grand Strategy"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Defense and Strategic Studies"],"thesis:degree_level":["Masters"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science in Defense and Strategic Studies"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:16:37Z"}