Russian Nuclear Shield from Stalin to Yeltsin

This book makes extensive use of Soviet sources to provide the first full analysis of Moscow's ballistic missile defence policy from its origins to the most recent post-Soviet developments. It considers the Soviets' motivations for pursuing an anti-ballistic missile capability and the extent of their success, and reveals that ballistic missile defence policy was used by every political leadership from Krushchev to Yeltsin as a means of sending signals about Moscow's intentions to the West.