MainPIR Press News№ 49 (97), 2026. “A Colossus in the World of Non‑Proliferation, a Great Teacher and a Tireless Worker”: on September 27, PIR Center marks the 99th anniversary of the birth of Roland M. Timerbaev
№ 49 (97), 2026. “A Colossus in the World of Non‑Proliferation, a Great Teacher and a Tireless Worker”: on September 27, PIR Center marks the 99th anniversary of the birth of Roland M. Timerbaev
MOSCOW. 27 SEPTEMBER 2026. PIR PRESS. On September 27, PIR Center celebrates the 99th anniversary of the birth of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Roland M. Timerbaev (1927–2019). Roland Mikhailovich was one of the founders of the international nuclear non‑proliferation regime. He actively participated in the development and signing of the Treaty on the Non‑Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), the 1972 Soviet‑American Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, the Threshold Test Ban Treaty and the Peaceful Nuclear Explosive Treaty, as well as in the negotiations on the Nuclear Suppliers Group formation, which was established to control the export of nuclear materials. In addition, he participated in the creation of the IAEA safeguards system and other documents that became the foundation of the modern nuclear non‑proliferation regime.
Roland M. Timerbaev possessed inexhaustible curiosity and acted as a model of the highest professionalism. After leaving diplomatic service, he entirely devoted himself to study and left behind a rich academic legacy. From 1994 to 1998, he served as PIR Center President; from 1999 to 2010, he was PIR Center Executive Board Chairman; until his death in 2019, he was a PIR Center Expert Council member. Working at PIR Center, Roland Mikhailovich paid special attention to the training of young specialists in international relations. PIR Center staff, students, friends and colleagues carefully preserve the memory of this outstanding diplomat and expert in the field of nuclear non‑proliferation and disarmament, noting his kindness, openness, enthusiasm, and sincere desire to contribute to the cause of non‑proliferation.
In honor of Roland Timerbaev’s birthday, for the first time, PIR Center has published an archive material, an interview titled “A Man from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs” which was published in Kavkazsky Krai in August 1994.
The interview was recorded in Kislovodsk, where Roland M. Timerbaev was on vacation after working at the Monterey Institute of International Studies, and which he greatly enjoyed visiting. This is not a formal account of his diplomatic career, but rather a lively and honest conversation in which Timerbaev recalls the negotiations on the NPT, the work of Soviet diplomats with their American counterparts, the first years in New York and meetings with the leading experts of his time, as well as reflects on the profession of a diplomat, international control over nuclear weapons and his own life path.
It is particularly noteworthy that as early as 1994, when contemplating the future of the nuclear order, Roland Mikhailovich described the implementation of the idea of international control over nuclear weapons as his “main mission” and spoke of the need for joint efforts towards stricter international arms control.
On the educational platform NONPROLIFERATION.WORLD, in the Roland Timerbaev memory gallery, one can read about his life and professional path, familiarize themselves with the list of Timerbaev’s key publications, watch an interview with the expert and read selected works of Roland M. Timerbaev published by PIR Center in 2023 which is a collection of the Ambassador’s most notable works on the formation of the international nuclear non‑proliferation regime, including articles, excerpts from monographs, fragments from archive documents, personal diaries and the “Stories about the Past. Memories of Negotiations on Non-Proliferation and Disarmament and Much More” memoirs.
In memory of Roland M. Timerbaev, PIR Center holds the International Timerbaev Debates for students and young professionals in the field of nuclear non‑proliferation, disarmament and global security. The debates first took place in 2020 at the venue of the XX PIR Center International School on Global Security.
In 2026, two debate tracks were organized. On July 7, 2026, the XXIV PIR Center International School on Global Security hosted the X International Timerbaev Debates on the topic “Military artificial intelligence in the context of global confrontation between world powers: a strategic resource for Russia or a source of new threats to national security?”. Two teams, which included representatives of Russia, Belarus, Chad and South Korea, participated in the debates. The event was moderated by the Areopagus of Debates, consisting of Vadim Kozyulin, a PIR Center Council member and consultant and Chief Researcher at the Center for Military and Political Studies at the Institute of Current International Problems of the MGIMO Diplomatic Academy, and Yulia Tseshkovskaya, a PIR Center Expert Council member and Head of Marketing at Evocargo. The teams worked under the guidance of Adlan Margoev, a researcher at the Institute of International Studies and a lecturer at the MGIMO Department of Oriental Studies, and Leonid Tsukanov, a PIR Center consultant.
On September 24, 2026, on the eve of the Ambassador’s birthday, PIR Center and MGIMO held the XI International Timerbaev Debates as part of the “Russia’s Policy in the Field of International Security” course on the topic “Will a world with a larger number of nuclear powers be more stable and predictable than a world based on the nuclear non‑proliferation regime?” The Areopagus of Debates included Igor Vishnevetsky, a PIR Center Expert Council member and an independent expert, and Alexander Chekov, a lecturer at the MGIMO Department of International Relations and Russia’s Foreign Policy. Two teams, comprised of second-year students of the joint MGIMO and PIR Center International Security Master’s program, participated in the debate under the guidance of Mikhail Luchina, a junior researcher at the Strategic Analysis and Forecasting Sector at the IMEMO Center for International Security, and Roman Kalinin, a PIR Center researcher.
Next year, the 100th anniversary of the birth of Roland M. Timerbaev will be celebrated. In honor of this event, PIR Center is launching a series of PIR Tests about Roland Timerbaev. In addition, in 2027, PIR Center is planning to hold a number of events as part of the anniversary year dedicated to Timerbaev’s memory.
PIR Center honors the memory of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Roland M. Timerbaev and invites everyone to take part in the events dedicated to him!
