Soviet Biological Weapons Program by Milton Leitenberg

by Milton Leitenberg

This is the first attempt to understand the full scope of the USSR’s offensive biological weapons research, from inception in the 1920s. Gorbachev tried to end the program, but the U.S. and U.K. never obtained clear evidence that he succeeded, raising the question whether the means for waging biological warfare could be present in Russia today.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Military History, Science, Russia

Hardcover

First published June 29, 2012

Reviews

[Tech Historian · Rating 5 out of 5]

The landmark study.

For at least 20 years (1972-1992) the Soviet Union hid a ~65,000 person offensive biological weapons program. This Soviet program had at least five R&D centers and 7 massive mobilization production centers with weapons filling stations. These were not defensive vaccine research centers. They produced _tons_ of weaponized anthrax, plague, smallpox genetically modified for virulence and designed to bypass existing vaccines.

The Soviet Union and now Russia has lied continually about the existence of the program.

While we missed a few dozen attackers on 9.11, missing 65,000 people in a weapons program was the largest failure of U.S. intelligence in American history. It was the largest failure of the U.S. arms negotiations.

This book lays it all out it in excruciating and painful detail. This book is the reference standard for the history of the Soviet biological weapons program.

[James T]

Great topical depth. 1st hand accounts and great info. Like a text book.

[teohjitkhiam · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sobering account of the Soviet biological weapons program and its subsequent assumption by Russia.