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

In an interview with the US television show “20/20,” Yeltsin was asked directly whether Russia was still producing chemical and biological weapons. He responded as follows: “It’s a very difficult question. Therefore, I want to save this for my one-on-one talk with the US President. I can give only one promise. In the next few months we’re going to take steps to discontinue this kind of activity in accordance with international agreements on chemical and biological weapons.” Transcript from “20/20,” ABC News Division, 31 January 2002.

Will Englund, “Ex-Soviet Scientist Says Gorbachev’s Regime Created New Nerve Gas in ’91,” Baltimore Sun, September 16, 1992. My quote in the piece was: “Americans should know about it.”

Most of the experts that Englund spoke to declined to comment on the record. However, Dr. Lora Lumpe from the Federation of American Scientists commented that “it is unlikely that a nerve agent could be 10 times more lethal than VX gas.”

Resolution of the Permanent Technical Commission at GRNIIOKhT September 25, 1992. Top Secret. See Annex 5.

Letter of Director GOSNIIOKhT V.A. Petrunin to A.I. Tselikovsky, Head of the Department for Economic Security of the Security Ministry of the Russian Federation , October 1, 1992, N 1594ss. Top Secret. See Annex 4.

Letter of Major General A.I. Tselikovsky to Major General S.D. Balashov, Head of the Investigation Department at the RF Ministry of Security. Top Secret. See Annex 6.

O. V. Vishnyakov, “The Binary Bomb has Exploded”, Novoe Vremya , N 44, p. 4, 1992.

When Englund and Mironov went outside to drive to my apartment they couldn’t find Englund’s brand new car. It was stolen, despite the special police checkpoint with a guard for this compound where mostly foreigners were living.

Neither these items nor my doctoral dissertation contained any classified information, chemical formulas, or codes.

“Transcript of the Interrogation of the Suspect Vil Sultanovich Mirzayanov,” Investigation Department, Case 92, (Moscow: Ministry of Security of RF, 22 October 1992. Top Secret). Later, I had the opportunity to copy this document verbatim, as well as many others assembled in the case against me. See Annex 7.

“Report of the search”, Committee of Governmental Security [KGB] of the USSR. Top Secret. See Annex 8. Surprisingly the Chekists wrote this document on the paper with title of former title of their Agency.

“Transcript of the Interrogation of the Witness”, Investigation Department, Case 92 (Moscow: Ministry of Security of RF, 22 October 1992, Top Secret). See Annex 9.

“Transcript of the Suspect’s Interrogation”, Investigation Department, Case 92 (Moscow: Ministry of Security of RF, 23 October 1992, Top Secret). See Annex 10.

This 20 March 1995 attack killed a dozen, severely and critically wounded 54, mildly injured 980, and frightened thousands of other subway commuters. B.W. Brackett, Holy Terror: Armageddon in Tokyo (New York: Weatherhill, 1996); David E. Kaplan and Andrew Marshall, The Cult at the End of the World (New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1996); Sadayoshi Obu, Tetsu Yamaguchi, “Japanese Medical Team Briefing,” in Proceedings of the Seminar of Responding to the Consequences of Chemical and Biological Terrorism , Office of Emergency Preparedness (Washington, DC: US Public Health Service, Department of Health and Human Services, 11-4 July 1995): 2-12 to 2-29.

There are articles: Interfax Agency about the MB RF report of my arrest; “Statement of Editorial Office of Moscow News”; Victor Loshak, “The State Lie as a State Secret”; Natalya Gevorkyan, “To be prisoner according to Law which doesn’t exist”; Aleksei Pushkov, “Really Russia didn’t violate anything?” Moscow News N 44 (639), October 28 – Nowember 1, 1992.

“Transcript of the suspect’s interrogation”, Investigation Department of MB RF, Case 92, 28 October 1992. Top Secret. See Annex 11.

“Resolution Kalinin District Court of Moscow”, November 2, 1992. See Annex 12.

Annex 13: Letter of Head of the Department for Supervision of the Implementation of the Laws on Federal Security and International Relations State Justice Counselor of the Third Class Leonid M. Syukasev to Major General S.D. Balashov; October 30, 1992 N 13/2-1040-92. Top Secret; Annex 14: Letter of Major General S.D. Balashov to Leonid Sykasev, November 4, 1992. N 6/2753. Top Secret.

Andrey Illesh and Valeri Rudnev, “Selling the Motherland is Under Great Secrecy,” Izvestia , 6 November 1992; Valeri Rudnev, “Without my lawyer I’ll not tell you even “Hello”’, Izvestia , 13 November 1992.

Letter of First Deputy Attorney General of the Russian Federation State Justice Counselor of the 2nd Class I.S. Zemlyanushin to Deputy Minister of the MB RF Major General A.E. Safonov. December 10, 1992 N 13/2-1040-92,Top Secret. See Annex 15.

Letter of Head of the Department, Major General S.D. Balashov to Deputy Attorney General of RF I.S. Zemlyanushin. October 17, 1992 N 6/280. Secret. See Annex 16.

Valeri Rudnev,” The Scientist who was Selling his Motherland Finally has a Defender”, Izvestia , 17 November 1992.

Press Briefing in the RF Security Ministry, Federal News Service, Kremlin Package, 5 November 92.

See ref. 73.

Michael Satchell, “Death rattle of poison gas” U.S. News and World Report/September 13, 1993.

In 1996 in the US, one of my good American acquaintances told me that General Anatoly Kuntsevich during his visit got quite drunk in the hotel where he was staying and started to sexually harass service woman. Along came the police and started an investigation for this crime, but the case was settled. What was the price was paid by Kuntsevich?

Letter of General Major S.D. Balashov to Major General V.N. Markomenko to the head of the Third Main Department at the Federal Agency for Government Communications and Information under the President of Russia (FAPSI). See Annex 17.

See Annexes 18 and 19.

Letter of the head of a section at the Department, A.A. Shabunin, to Director of GRNIIOKhT V. Petrunin, November 12, 1992 N 6/2835. Top Secret. See Annex 20.

Letter of Deputy Director of GRNIIOKhT A.V. Kuznetsov to the head of a section at the Investigation Department of MB RF Colonel A.A. Shabunin. November 24, 1992, N 1846 ss. Top Secret. See Annex 21.

Letter of Head of Investigation Department of MB RF Major General S.D. Balashov to Lieutenant General V.N. Zemlyanitsyn, Head of 8th Department at the General Staff Headquarters of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Top Secret. See Annex 22.