PIR Center launches a contest for participation in the final seminar of the educational project Oral History of Nuclear Nonproliferation. The aim of the project is to preserve and transmit the memory of the role of Russian diplomats and the military in shaping the modern architecture of arms control, disarmament and nuclear nonproliferation. This project has no analogues in Russia and is intended to expand the understanding of the younger generation about the processes and events in such a traditionally non-public area as nuclear policy and diplomacy of Russia. The project will allow young international specialists to improve their skills in these issues, as well as share the results of their own research on topical issues of the nuclear nonproliferation regime.

Today, PIR Center celebrates the 95th anniversary of an outstanding Soviet diplomat, scientist, one of the main mentors of the PIR Center for more than 20 years – Amb. Roland Timerbaev. He was one of the world's largest experts in the field of nuclear nonproliferation, a diplomat who made a tremendous contribution to the preparation of the 1968 Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), a key document of the global security system. 

We continue to publish materials on the X NPT Review Conference under the rubric "Notes from the Field: 10th NPT Review Conference through the Eyes of Russian Public Diplomacy". This time, PIR Center Deputy Director Elena Karnaukhova talked to Ambassador Sergio Duarte, the UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs (2007-2012), the Brazilian representative to several International organizations, focusing on disarmament issues, the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the IAEA (1999-2000). He served the Brazilian Foreign Service for 48 years: the Ambassador of Brazil in a number of countries, including Austria, Croatia, Slovakia and Slovenia concurrently (1999-2002), China (1996-1999), Canada (1993-1996), and Nicaragua (1986-1991), Switzerland (1979-1986), the United States (1970-1974), Argentina (1963-1966), and Rome (1961-1963). Sergio Duarte stood at the origins of the NPT and was familiar with Roland Timerbaev.

PIR Center publishes the thesis of H.E. Sergey A. Ryabkov, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation, for the International Scientific Conference “On the 60th Anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis”.

"Once we went on a trip with my friend and our families. Rented a rickety old hut in the village, the electricity worked poorly, but there was a lot of firewood. We heated the stove, collected mushrooms, wandered through the swamps, caught crayfish with children in the icy water. There were a lot of impressions, but, unfortunately, the weather had deteriorated. I decided not to stop the trip, to go to the sea. It was difficult to keep the idea a secret and put the children to bed after intense adventures, I had to tell them.

Then, many years later, the children said the words most dear to my wife and me: "Parents, how happy we are that you are so crazy"," - Dmitry Danilov, Head of European Security Department at Institute of Europe, Russian Academy of Sciences.

PIR Center continues to publish materials on the X NPT Review Conference under the rubric "Notes from the Field: 10th NPT Review Conference through the Eyes of Russian Public Diplomacy". PIR Center Deputy Director Elena Karnaukhova talked to Ambassador Hamad Al Kaabi, Permanent Representative of the UAE to the IAEA, about the assessments of the X NPT RevCon, politization of review process, China's positions, Ukraine, the WMD-free zone in the Middle East, JCPOA, UAE in nuclear domain and cooperation with Russia.

International terrorism remains one of the key threats to Russia's security. However, as the world continues to digitalize, cyberterrorism is spreading along with traditional forms, which can cause much greater damage to the global security architecture, which is largely facilitated by the rapid development of information and communication technologies. The purpose of this research note is to analyze the activities of Al–Qaeda* and ISIS*, as the two most active supporters of the concept of digital jihad, in cyberspace.

On Wednesday, September 7, the Supreme People's Assembly of the DPRK adopted a decree on “Policy on Nuclear Weapons.” According to it, North Korea has officially proclaimed itself a nuclear power.

Low-yield weapons have recently taken a prevalent position in global nuclear weapons doctrine as global stability is hitting one of the lowest points thus far in the 21st century. Major global actors such as the United States and the Russian Federation have either directly or indirectly written low-yield nuclear weapons into their nuclear doctrine as they build defenses to new perceived threats.

The research goal is to identify whether low-yield weapons increase or decrease global strategic stability by considering the ramifications of their deployment on multiple levels of global stability.

On Tuesday, September 6, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) published a long-awaited report on the results of the visit to the Zaporozhye NPP, which took place at the beginning of the month. The IAEA mission was personally headed by the IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi. The report reflected the numerous destructions caused at the site of nuclear power plant as a result of shelling, for example, damage to the block for storing nuclear fuel and radioactive waste, as well as the presence of traces of hits in the immediate vicinity of the buildings of the power units. A conclusion was made about the danger of such attacks and the possible serious consequences. At the same time, the IAEA did not take the liberty of naming the party responsible for these attacks.