COOPERATIVE THREAT REDUCTION PROGRAM 

BIOLOGICAL THREAT REDUCTION PROGRAM 

U.S. Department of Defense Cooperative Threat Reduction Program (DoD CTR) Biological Threat 

Reduction Engagement with 

THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION, 1996-2013 

The Cooperative Threat Reduction Program was launched in 1991 when Congress directed the 

Department of Defense to help secure former Soviet weapons of mass destruction. Since 1991, 

Congress has provided $2.3 billion to support CTR efforts globally.merging threats. 

KEY FACTS 

• When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the 

newly created Russian Federation inherited 

a complex of biological weapons (BW) 

laboratories and manufacturing plants that 

were part of the largest biological weapons 

program in history and were developed and 

maintained in violation of the Biological 

Weapons Convention. 

• The Russian Federation was the DoD CTR 

Program’s foundational partner from 1991 

to 2014, with a focus on de-militarizing the 

Soviet Union’s WMD arsenal. Biological 

threat reduction activities were implemented 

between 1996 and 2014, and ended with the 

illegal invasion of Crimea. 

• DoD’s CTR partnership with the International 

Science and Technology Center (ISTC) 

provided the legal framework to implement 

DoD CTR activities with the Russian 

• ISTC States Parties (including the United 

States) provided approximately $1.5 billion 

in funding to support WMD threat reduction 

efforts in Russia. This funding went toward 

efforts that included: 

» Biological Safety and Security (BS&S): 

DoD CTR helped the Russian Federation 

reduce its proliferation risks by 

enhancing BS&S at former Soviet BW 

facilities to limit unauthorized access, 

thefts, or accidents involving dangerous 

materials and to prevent terrorist 

groups or states seeking weapons of 

mass destruction (WMD) capabilities 

from acquiring dual-use equipment or 

weaponizable materials. 

» Collaborative Biological Research (CBR): 

DoD CTR provided funding in 1996 for 

Western biodefense researchers to 

engage former Soviet BW scientists to 

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Federation. The ISTC was established in 

Moscow by international agreement in 1992 

between the Russian Federation, United 

States, European Union, and Japan to 

provide former Soviet weapons scientists 

with new opportunities for sustainable, 

peaceful employment. 

• In 2010 President Medvedev signed a 

Presidential Decree withdrawing from the 

ISTC, but allowed the ISTC to continue 

operating in Moscow for several more 

years. 

permanently redirect their expertise 

to benign civilian purposes and 

careers, thereby preventing trained BW 

researchers from transferring their BW 

expertise to terrorist groups or states 

seeking WMD capabilities. 

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States, European Union, and Japan to 

provide former Soviet weapons scientists 

with new opportunities for sustainable, 

In 2010 President Medvedev signed a 

Presidential Decree withdrawing from the 

ISTC, but allowed the ISTC to continue 

operating in Moscow for several more 

expertise to terrorist groups or states 

seeking WMD capabilities.
• Infrastructure Elimination: At the request of the Russian Federation, DoD CTR worked to 

consolidate or dismantle infrastructure that previously been used for BW research and 

production, with a focus on the State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology (Vector). 

• DoD CTR engaged approximately 400 Russian scientists and spent more than $100 million on 

activities at key facilities, including (with date of funding conclusion) but not limited to: 

» State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology (Vector; FY2011) 

» State Research Center for Applied Microbiology (Obolensk; FY2005) 

» All-Russian Research Institute for Phytopathology (Golitsino; FY2013) 

» Pokrov Biologics Plant (Pokrov; FY2013) 

» All-Russian Scientific Research Veterinary Institute (Kazan; FY2013) 

» All-Russian Research Institute of Animal Health (Vladimir; FY2013) 

• Russian scientists also participated in collaborative research projects on pathogens such as 

Monkeypox, Anthrax, Brucellosis, Yesinia Pestis (Plague), Marburg, Ebola, Smallpox, and 

Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever, just to name a few. 

• No additional activities were funded in Russia by CTR beyond FY2014 (Section 1246 of the 

FY2015 US Congress National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) prohibited funding “for any 

bilateral military-to-military cooperation between” the U.S. and RF). 

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