Recently there have been statements (some of which were made by members of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy SVOP) promoting, albeit with many reservations, the idea of a pre-emptive nuclear attack by Russia in the event of negative developments of the military operation in Ukraine and its neighboring regions. Those who made these statements not only speculate on the use of tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Ukraine, but also suggest attacking the founding members of NATO.
We are all familiar with the data emerging from past and recent studies that show the magnitude of the potential consequences of nuclear war. It is highly irresponsible to count on the hope that a small nuclear conflict can be managed to prevent it from escalating into a global nuclear war. This means that tens – or even hundreds – of millions of lives in Russia, Europe, China, the United States and other parts of the world are at risk. It is a threat to all of humanity.
Our country, devastated by this catastrophe, and our people devastated by this war, will also risk losing its sovereignty under the pressure of the remaining nations to the south.
It is unacceptable to allow pseudoscientific rhetoric and emotional statements, in the style of so-called talk shows, to stir up passions in society that can lead to disastrous decisions.
These are no longer abstract concepts. This is not only a threat to all of humanity, but also a very concrete proposal to kill all the people we love and care about.
We, members of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, find such statements totally unacceptable, and we categorically condemn them.
No one should ever blackmail humanity with the threat of an attack with nuclear weapons, let alone give orders to use them in combat.
We invite all SVOP members to sign this declaration.
List of SVOP members who signed the declaration:
Anatoly AdamishinPresident of the Association for Euro-Atlantic Cooperation; Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation (formerly First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation; Director for Foreign Affairs of the Russian Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Russian Federation); Ph.D.
Alexey Arbatov, director of the Center for International Security at the Primakov Research Institute of Global Economy and International Relations (Imemo); Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS).
Nadezhda Arbatova, Director of the Research Program at the European Dialogues Forum; Head of European Policy Studies (Deps)t at Imemo; Ph.D.
Alexander Belkin, Director of Mubadala’s International Projects (formerly Assistant Undersecretary, State Defense and Security Committee; Deputy Executive Director of Mubadala)
Veronika Borovik-Khelchevskayahead of the Sovershenno Sekretno publishing group.
Georgie Buffett, director of the magazine Russky Mir.ru; Ph.D.
Vladimir Dvorkin, Principal Researcher of Imemo, Russian Academy of Sciences; Professor, Ph.D.; The major is retired.
Sergey Dubinin, Head of the Department of Finance and Credit at the National Research University – Higher School of Economics (HSE) (formerly Head of the Central Bank of Russia); Ph.D.
Vitaly DemarskyDirector of the History Delicate magazine.
Vladimir EntinDirector of the Center for Legal Protection of Intellectual Property; Associate Professor, Faculty of Journalism, Moscow State Institute of International Relations, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation; Assistant Professor, Department of Advocacy, MGIMO University; Ph.D.
Alexander GoltsDeputy editor-in-chief of the online Ezhednevny Journal.
Vladimir GurevichDirector of the Vremya publishing house.
Svyatoslav Casp, Professor in the Department of Public Political Science, HSE School of Politics and Governance; Chairman of the editorial board of the Journal of Political Theory, Political Philosophy and Sociology of Political Politics. Moderator at the Politeia Research seminar named after Alexei Salmin.
Lev Koshlyakova member of Mubadala (ex-deputy director of the Russian Radio Communications Company).
Ilya Lomakin Rumyantsev, Chairman of the Board of Directors of VLM-Invest, Agency for the Promotion of Economic Enterprise Development; Director of the Rosgosstrakh Expert Council; Ph.D.
Vladimir Lukin, Professor at HSE; Member of the Supervisory Committee of the International Luxembourg Forum (former deputy chairman of the International Relations Committee of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation Council (Russian Senate); chairman of the Russian Paralympic Committee; chairman of the International Relations Committee and deputy speaker of the State Duma; Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the USA; Commissioner for Human Rights of the Russian Federation); Ph.D.
Sergei MendoyanetsRussian Center for Social and Business Promotion (ex
Chairman of the Parliamentary Development Foundation); Ph.D.
Arkady MurashovHead of Eppa – European Consultants.
Alexander Muzykantsky, Head of Foreign Policy Information Support, LMSU School of Global Politics, Professor; Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Russian Center for Social and Business Promotion; Ph.D.
Sergey Oznobishev, Head of the Department of Military and Political Analysis at IMEMO; Director of the Institute for Strategic Assessments; Professor at MGIMO University. Ph.D.
Vladimir RubanovSupervisor at Inteltek Center for Information Technology and Innovation. Member of the Committee on Collective Operations of the Skolkovo Enterprise, member of the Public Council of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation; supervisor at Infoexpertiza; Vice President of the Association for the Assistance of Da’wah Institutions in Russia (former Deputy Secretary of the Russian Security Council).
Dmitry RurikovAmbassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation (former adviser to the Russian President on foreign policy).
Evgeny Savustyanov, CEO of Metro-Navtika; Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Center for Promoting Rapprochement between Russia and America (formerly Deputy Chief of Staff of the Russian President); Ph.D.
Sergey TsepelievSt. Petersburg University of Technology and Management Economics, Plenipotentiary Representative; President of the Respublika Foundation, St. Petersburg); Ph.D.
Alexander VysotskyCorporate Relations Director at Yandex Go.
Igor YurgensPrincipal Researcher at the Center for Sustainable Development, Professor at the Department of Risk Management and Insurance at MGIMO University; Professor at HSE; Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Institute of Contemporary Development. Ph.D.
Alexander ZakharovVice President of Eurofinance Investment Company.
Pavel ZolotarevDeputy Director of the Institute of American and Canadian Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS); President of the Military Reform Support Foundation. The major is retired.
(translated by Marzia Porta)
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