MOSCOW. AUGUST 21, 2026. PIR PRESS. “Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Roland Mikhailovich Timerbaev – a colossus in the field of nonproliferation, a great teacher, and a tireless worker -passed away on August 21, 2019. Yet his views, guidance, and legacy continue to shape the creative and intellectual thinking of specialists in nuclear nonproliferation and global security more broadly, both in Russia and abroad,” from the foreword to Anthology by Roland Timerbaev, published by PIR Center in 2023.
August 21 marks the day of remembrance of Roland Mikhailovich Timerbaev, an outstanding diplomat and a prominent expert in nuclear nonproliferation. He stood at the origins of the international nuclear nonproliferation regime and played an active role in the development and conclusion of such agreements as the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), the 1972 Treaty between the USSR and the United States on the Limitation of Anti-Ballistic Missile Systems (ABM Treaty), the Threshold Test Ban Treaty, and the Treaty on Underground Nuclear Explosions for Peaceful Purposes. He also participated in negotiations that led to the establishment of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), created to strengthen export controls over nuclear materials. In addition, he contributed to the development of the IAEA safeguards system and many other instruments that formed the foundations of the modern nuclear nonproliferation regime.
Roland Mikhailovich was a man of inexhaustible intellectual curiosity and an example of the highest professional standards. After completing his diplomatic service, he devoted himself fully to academic work and left behind an extensive scholarly legacy. From 1994 to 1998, R.M. Timerbaev served as President of PIR Center. From 1999 to 2010, he chaired the PIR Center Executive Board. Until his passing in 2019, he remained a member of the PIR Center Advisory Board. In his work at PIR Center, Roland Mikhailovich paid particular attention to educating and mentoring a younger generation of international security experts.
At the same time, as many of his students recall, he always valued modesty and preferred discussing global affairs rather than talking about himself. It is telling that a copy of Boris Pasternak’s poem “It Is Not Seemly to Be Famous” (Byt znamenitym nekrasivo) hung above the desk in his office. On this day of remembrance, we publish the poem from R.M. Timerbaev’s personal archive (in Russian). The translation of the poem can be found here.
PIR Center honors the memory of a wise teacher, close associate, and dear friend. The NONPROLIFERATION.WORLD educational platform hosts the Roland Timerbaev Memorial Gallery, where visitors can find some of his writings, interviews, speeches and photographs, as well as recollections by his friends, colleagues, and students about his life and work.
In memory of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Roland Mikhailovich Timerbaev, an outstanding diplomat and mentor of PIR Center, PIR Center organizes the annual International Timerbaev Debates for students and young professionals in the fields of nuclear nonproliferation, disarmament, and global security. The first International Timerbaev Debates were held in 2020 as part of the 20th Anniversary PIR Center International School on Global Security. Since then, ten rounds of the Debates have been held.
On July 7, 2026, the 10th International Timerbaev Debates were held as part of the XXIV PIR Center International School on Global Security. The topic was: “Military Artificial Intelligence Amid Global Rivalry Between Major Powers: A Strategic Asset for Russia or a Source of New Threats to National Security?”
The XI Timerbaev Debates will take place in September 2026 as part of the MGIMO University–PIR Center Master’s Program in International Security and will address an issue closely connected with Roland Timerbaev’s professional career: Nuclear weapons proliferation: a stabilizing factor or a threat to the international security system? Roland Mikhailovich himself would probably have considered the question provocative, since he regarded the “implementation of the idea of control” over nuclear weapons as his “principal mission.” Yet, as contemporary developments demonstrate, the issue now generates far more controversy within the international expert and even diplomatic community than the Ambassador might once have expected.
We would also like to recall that in 2023 PIR Center published Roland Timerbaev’s book Selected Works, bringing together some of the Ambassador’s most notable writings on the history and development of the international nuclear nonproliferation regime, including articles, excerpts from monographs, archival documents, and passages from Roland Mikhailovich’s personal diaries.
The memory of Roland Timerbaev is carefully preserved by the entire PIR Center team, as well as by his students, friends, and colleagues.
Keywords: Memorial Gallery
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