Вил Мирзаянов - State Secrets - An Insider's Chronicle of the Russian Chemical Weapons Program

The Extract is true. Senior investigator of

the MB RF Investigation Department

Captain of Justice

V. Shkarin

(v. 3, pp. 215, 216 of Case 62)

Top Secret

from the “List of Information to be Qualified as Secret by the USSR Ministry of the Petrochemical Industry” confirmed by order N 234-19 of the USSR Ministry of Petrochemical Industry on May 27 1991.

Item 5.3. Information enhancing capabilities or leading to improvement of existing arms and military machinery for classes of strategic rockets, space units, units of anti-rocket and anti-space defense, planes, helicopters, combat ships and rocket, artillery, armored, mortar-torpedo, and anti-submarine arms.

Item 5.5. Information disclosing the significance, trend, initial scientific research ideas, application capability (realization quality) of future perspective planned or conducted fundamental or applied scientific-technical work in interests of country’s defense.

The Excerpt is true.

Senior investigator of

MB RF Investigation Department

Captain of Justice

V. Shkarin

(v. 3, p. 217 of the Case 62).

Top Secret

Copy 1

Moscow

March 16, 1993

The commission of experts consisting of Chairman Yuri Mikhailovich Karmishin, head of a department at the State Institute for Technology of Organic Synthesis; members of the commission: Rim Kuzmich Balchenko, M.S. in Chemical Science and Deputy Director for Science at the State Institute for Technology of Organic Synthesis, Anatoly Mikhailovich Kochetkov, chief specialist of the joint-stock company “Tyazhorgsintez,” Igor Mikhailovich Gabov, leading specialist of the joint-stock company “Tyazhorgsintez,” Boris Alexseevich Kuznetsov, M.S. in Chemical Science and head of the laboratory at the State Russian Science Research Institute for Organic Chemistry and Technology (GRNIIOKhT), Boris Petrovich Kosmynin, M.S. in Physical Chemistry and former senior research assistant at GRNIIOKhT, Colonel Yuri Alexeevich Klimentiev, M.S in Technical Science, military chemical engineer and chemist and head of a department at Military Unit 61469, Lieutenant Colonel Nikolai Grigorievich Pechenenko, Deputy Commander at the Military Unit 61469 for the Regime of Secrecy and Special Communications, Vadim Vasilievich Smirnitsky, engineer and chemist, head of the Representative Office on the Committee of Industrial Policy at the RF Ministry of Defense, Reserve Colonel Nikolai Iosifovich Chugunov, M.S. in Technical Science, engineer and chemist, and Reserve Colonel Arkady Egorovich Kordyukov, head of a department at Military Unit 52688; based on a resolution dated January 11, 1993, prepared by Captain of Justice Victor A. Shkarin, Senior Investigator of the Investigation Department at the MB RF, conducted an expertise commission to determine the authenticity and degree of secrecy of the information in criminal case N 62, according to Article 191 of the RSFSR Criminal and Procedural Code. The commission arrived at the following conclusion.

According to the instructions in carbon copy the following materials were at the disposal of the experts:

The materials are listed here.

[Also, my manuscripts and published articles are enumerated and the following two articles were also added – V.M.]:

- the article “The Binary Bomb has Exploded” published in the N 44 issue of the magazine “Novoe Vremya” in October 1992;

- the article “We Waged Chemical War on our own Territory” published in the N 210 issue of the newspaper “Nezavisimaya Gazetta” on October 30, 1992.

The decision of the experts was established based on the following questions:

a) What specific information about the research and works in the area of the development of chemical weapons did Mirzayanov disclose in his publications and interviews?

b) Does the information about the development of chemical weapons that can be found in the publications [all my manuscripts and articles are enumerated – V.M.] correspond to reality by volume and nature?

c) Is the information about the research and works in the area of the development of chemical weapons included by Mirzayanov in his articles, interviews, and manuscripts, factual? If the answer is affirmative, what is the degree of secrecy of this information? Does it constitute a state or work-related secret?

d) Did Mirzayanov’s actions have any negative consequences? If yes, specifically what consequences?

1. The texts of the examined documents contain information about the development of the new chemical agents in our country… The indicated information is true. In GOSNIIOKhT (now GRNIIOKhT) a new chemical compound has really been synthesized, studied, and tested that significantly surpasses the agent VX (a chemical agent adopted by the U.S. Army) by a complex of battle characteristics, including difficulties in curing.

According to the facts available, the armies of the countries that possess chemical weapons are not armed with any compounds analogous to the above-mentioned compound.

In 1992 this information was top secret and constituted a state secret, and it does so presently.

2. The texts of the documents examined contain information about the direction and results of the special purpose program in the area of the development of chemical weapons… The indicated information is true. GOSNIIOKhT has developed experimental batches of binary weapons based on the new chemical agents, which were successfully tested at the test site. According to the information available, foreign countries haven’t possessed this information before.

Clauses 2.1-2.6 contain information about the direction and resulting perspectives of long-term applied scientific research work on the development of binary weapons conducted in the interests of the defense of the country.

In 1992 this information was top secret and constituted a state secret, and it does so today.

The commission has no information (documents) at its disposal at this time about any negative consequences that Mirzayanov’s actions caused.

As a result of conducting the expert investigation, the commission has arrived at the following conclusions.

The excerpts from the manuscripts, publications, and interviews cited in the research part of the experts’ conclusion contain information about:

1. The latest achievements in the area of science and technology (results of the scientific research in the interests of the defense of the country) that allow the increase the potential of existing weapons (ammunition).

In 1992 this information was top secret and constituted a state secret, and it is still the case at the present time.

2. The direction and the resulting perspectives of long-term applied scientific research work on the creation of binary weapons carried out in the interests of the defense of the country. In 1992 this information was top secret and constituted a state secret, and it is still so today.

The signatures of the experts follow.

Experts V. V. Smirnitsky and

N. I. Chugunov didn’t sign.

Top secret

Moscow

March 18, 1993

The expert Nikolai Iosifovich Chugunov, Master of Technical Science, based on the resolution dated January 11, 1993, prepared by Captain of Justice Victor A. Shkarin, Senior Investigator of the Investigation Department at the MB RF, conducted an expertise to determine the authenticity and degree of secrecy of the information in criminal case N 62, according to Article 191 of the RSFSR Criminal and Procedural Code and came to this conclusion: