Senior Fellow
[email protected]
Vienna, Austria
Background
Beginning in 1981, Dr. Nikolai Sokov worked at the Institute of US and Canadian Studies and the Institute of World Economy and International Relations in Moscow. From 1987-92 he worked at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union and later Russia, and participated in START I and START II negotiations as well as in a number of summit and ministerial meetings.
He has been invited to speak at numerous conferences and provide briefings to many organizations and governmental agencies, including:
- US Department of State
- US Department of Defense
- US Department of Energy
- Various committees of US Congress
- US national laboratories
- UK Defense Academy
- International Institute for Strategic Studies
- Fondation pour la Recherche Strategique
- Tomsk Polytechnical University
Education
Dr. Nikolai N. Sokov has a PhD from the University of Michigan (1996) and (the Soviet equivalent of a PhD) Candidate of Historical Sciences degree from the Institute of World Economy and International Relations (1986). He graduated from Moscow State University in 1981.
CNS Work
- A Second Sighting of Russian Tactical Nukes in Kaliningrad
Russian tactical nuclear weapons appear with some regularity in Kaliningrad oblast. - As New START Enters into Force, Negotiations Are More Challenging
US and Russia find that setting the agenda is an almost insurmountable obstacle. - New START Ratification in Russia
Apparent smooth sailing obscures submerged drama and revelations. - New START Ratification: A Bittersweet Success
Concessions made to win approval challenge Obama’s nonproliferation agenda. - NATO Summits Fail to Resolve Key Disarmament Issues, but Create New Opportunities
NATO and NATO-Russia Summits bring modest opportunities for progress in the coming years. - Reducing & Regulating Nonstrategic (Tactical) Nuclear Weapons in Europe: Moving Forward?
MAY 10, 2010: A panel discussion held between sessions of the RevCon. - NFWZ ClearinghouseWilliam Potter, Leonard Spector, Lawrence Scheinman, Gaukhar Mukhatzhanova, Nikolai Sokov April 28, 2010 Introduction Nuclear-Weapons-Free Zones (NWFZs) are recognized as important tools of international nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament. In 2009, both the Central Asian NWFZ Treaty and the African NWFZ Treaty (Treaty of Pelindaba) entered into force. NWFZs now cover 116 countries including the entire territory of the southern hemisphere. The Central Asian ...
- START Follow-On Talks Successfully Concluded: What’s Next?
The conclusion of the Treaty of Prague is a success. Now Obama and Medvedev need to outline the next treaty. - The New, 2010 Russian Military Doctrine: The Nuclear AngleThe new Military Doctrine appears to reduce the role of nuclear weapons in Russia’s national security policy.
- The New, 2010 Russian Military Doctrine: The Nuclear Angle
Contrary to expectations, the new doctrine reduces reliance on nuclear weapons.
Bibliography
Dr. Nikolai N. Sokov is the author or co-author of several monographs, including:
- Delegitimizing Nuclear Weapons: Examining the Validity of Nuclear Deterrence (2010)
- Reducing and Regulating Tactical (Nonstrategic) Nuclear Weapons in Europe (2009)
- Engaging China and Russia on Nuclear Disarmament (2009)
- Evolution of Nuclear Strategy in U.S. and Russia and its Implications for Arms Control (2003)
- Tactical Nuclear Weapons: Options for Control (2000)
- Russian Strategic Modernization: Past and Future (2000)
- Russian Policy Toward the Baltics: What the West Can Expect and What It Could Do (1999)
He is also co-author and co-editor of the first Russian-language college-level textbook on nuclear nonproliferation (Yadernoe Nerasprostranenie, Vol.I-II, PIR Center, 1st edition 2000, 2nd edition 2002).