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Epilogue
- University of Georgia Press
- Chapter
- Additional Information
Tsar Vyslav rejoiced greatly to see his two sons. To Tsarevitch Dimitri, who had brought him the firebird, he gave half of his Tsardom, and Tsarevitch Vasilii was to wed the Tsarevna, Helen the Beautiful. —“Tsarevitch Ivan, the Firebird, and the Gray Wolf” Nobel Peace Prize or not, government officials around the world have recognized the unique role that the istc has played in restraining flocks of nuclear firebirds from flights into dangerous nesting areas. The Russian government has decreed that the country’s involvement in the activities of the istc is no longer necessary. The other member states will continue to embrace the work of the center, and hopefully Russia will preserve and broaden the many positive imprints of the center throughout the country . These impacts have demonstrated time and again that Anton Chekov foresaw the global trajectories of learning many decades ago when he prophetically stated, “There is no national science. What is national is no longer science.” The istc has truly made a difference for Russian science. More than thirty thousand former weapons scientists and thousands of civilian partners with dual-use skills have participated in projects supported by the center. The proliferation threat has receded dramatically. And Russian scientists have time and time again demonstrated that Chekov’s prophecy is spot on. Fifteen years ago my earlier book titled Moscow DMZ: The Story of the International Effort to Convert Russian Weapons Science to Peaceful Purposes provided a suitable summary of the intent of this companion book as follows: Moscow DMZ has been a first attempt to capture and evaluate the performance data from the istc experiment. Now, the challenge is to package the conclusions in appropriate security, political, and economic envelopes. The objective must be to help policymakers use the best of the istc experiences in addressing the future problems of cooperation with the countries that emerged from the former Soviet Union, in supporting conversion at many EPILOGUE [250] Epilogue levels in Russia, in countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems, and in improving approaches to fostering economic development throughout the world. This book provides a starting point to achievement of these goals. I invite colleagues from around the world to join the search for new tools of science to respond to the never-ending challenges of increased international security and economic prosperity on all continents. For those of you who have made your way to this final page, I would welcome your suggestions as to how the international community can design a second experiment that builds on the achievements of istc 1.0. You can reach me at campubs@msn.com. ...