Containing Russia's Nuclear Firebirds: Harmony and Change at the International Science and Technology Center

3. An Era of Euphoria (2001–2006)

CHAPTER THREE An Era of Euphoria (2001–2006) In the early 1990s, istc support was crucial for the institute’s survival. Now the istc is important for select groups of researchers. The center’s programs help advance their science in terms of commercial activities. —Vice Director, Ioffe Institute of Physics, St. Petersburg, 2002 One can hardly overestimate the center’s contribution to strengthening of the international scientific community and preparing specialists to work under new market conditions. —Head of Russia’s Federal Atomic Energy Agency, 2004 The istc entered the first decade of the twenty-first century on a high note. Praises for its work were coming from all directions. Governments in North America, Europe, and Asia were pleased with their financial investments as both nonproliferation and scientific returns seemed obvious to all. Funding of the istc was on a steady course. By the early 2000s, the annual funding level for projects involving Russian scientists was averaging between sixty-eight and seventy-eight million dollars, although beginning to decline. The Russian government had significantly reduced a number of bureaucratic difficulties. For example, the process for obtaining Russian government approvals for projects of interest to the other parties, while still lengthy, had somewhat improved. The paranoia of the Russian security services over any type of foreign access to sensitive facilities had receded, as they adjusted entry procedures in accordance with the legal obligations of the government, pursuant to the istc Agreement. Officials in Moscow and in other capitals had accepted the center as a significant player, both in helping to reduce incentives for proliferation and in strengthening the science infrastructure of Russia. Important international political and scientific leaders considered the administrative procedures of the center quite good, even by Western standards. [36] chapter three Of course, the procedures became more sluggish as the size of the program enlarged . At the same time, no significant security or financial scandals were reported . The istc successfully survived the scrutiny of a steady stream of international auditors and policy officials sent to Russia by the participating governments . They looked into file cabinets, visited sites where projects were under way, and prepared recommendations on future activities. After each visit, they gave the center high marks for both its program accomplishments and its administrative integrity. The istc was providing a selected group of Russian scientists with support at a critical time, which was fraught with economic uncertainties and growing concerns over future activities of rogue regimes and international terrorist groups. The scientists were becoming enthusiastic about their long-term professional opportunities. They had successfully weathered the economic turmoil and the missing Russian paychecks in the wake of the disintegration of the ussr. Then they had withstood the economic slump that encompassed the country in 1998. Many had quickly become addicted to foreign grants, and they anticipated a continuing relationship with the center. Most Russian scientists were well aware that their country was still a long way from political stability and that a shadow economy was benefiting a handful of rich Russians at the expense of others. But all in all, thousands of scientists seemed confident that the istc would continue to help them in avoiding the depths of poverty. Some were already finding new opportunities to showcase their research achievements internationally, and new contacts with foreign colleagues were occasionally leading to new income streams. In early 2001, I visited istc headquarters and discussed with the secretariat the impacts of the many programs that were in place. In retrospect, my two most important questions, which neither I nor the staff adequately pursued at that time, were these: • How effectively does the istc currently support the national goals of Russia —in the security, economic, and scientific arenas? • Should there be a well-planned transition to Russian funding of the types of activities that had been supported by the istc, and who should organize the planning for such a transition? Nine years later, when the Russian government was beginning the formal process of terminating its involvement with the center, it was simply too late to An Era of Euphoria [37] adjust programs in response to these and related questions concerning the integration of istc and Russian interests. Perhaps early adjustments could have diminished the growing Russian uneasiness about continuation of the center and could have sparked an alternative approach to the complete closing of the door in Moscow. More likely, the Russian power structure had its eyes on...