Item COLD WAR 28/50 - Transcript of interview with Major Valentin Larionov, 1996

Typescript transcript of interview with Maj Gen Valentin Larionov, Deputy Head of the Soviet Strategy Department [1960-1963], relating to Soviet nuclear strategy, [1960-1963]; the increase in the number of Soviet missiles deployed and the subsequent decrease in conventional forces, [1960-1963]; speculation on Soviet first strike capability, 1962; the Berlin Crisis and the construction of the Berlin Wall, 1961; the Cuban Missile Crisis, Oct 1962; the US nuclear doctrine of counterforce, emphasising limited nuclear strikes against an enemy's armed forces and not against civilian populations, 1962; mutually assured destruction (MAD), 1967; the US belief in Soviet expansionist policies, [1960-1969]; Soviet civil defence measures, [1960-1969]; the detonation by the USSR of a 50 megaton nuclear weapon, Novaya Zemlya Island, USSR, 30 Oct 1961. 28pp