WEBVTT - BrainStuff Classics: What Is Russia's 'Dead Hand'?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren vog Obam here with a classic episode from our

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<v Speaker 1>previous host, Christian Sagar. This one concerns an artifact of

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<v Speaker 1>the Cold War and the nuclear arms race that turns

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<v Speaker 1>out to probably not be an artifact at all, Russia's

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<v Speaker 1>so called dead hand. Hey, they're brain Stuff. I'm Christian Sagar.

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<v Speaker 1>Have you ever had one of those days where you

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<v Speaker 1>think to yourself, that is it. I'm gonna go and

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<v Speaker 1>build a doomsday machine to destroy the world, just like

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<v Speaker 1>all those supervillains in the movies. If so, it turns

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<v Speaker 1>out you're not alone. See sometime during the Cold War,

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<v Speaker 1>the USSR had the same idea. They've built a real

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<v Speaker 1>life doomsday device, something that could destroy most of civilization,

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<v Speaker 1>and the creepiest thing of all is that it might

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<v Speaker 1>still be around today. This all started during the Cold War,

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<v Speaker 1>which took place roughly from the late nineteen forties to

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen ninety one. Tensions between the US and the Soviet Union,

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<v Speaker 1>the world's greatest superpowers, were high, and each country continually

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<v Speaker 1>provoked the other. In the nineteen eighties, the US elected

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<v Speaker 1>Ronald Reagan as president, believing that a show of strength

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<v Speaker 1>would increase Western leverage with the Soviet Union. The Reagan

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<v Speaker 1>administration expanded the US nuclear arsenal and built a space

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<v Speaker 1>based missile shield called the Strategic Defense Initiative, or as

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<v Speaker 1>its critics like to call it, star Wars. This was

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<v Speaker 1>meant to show that the US was not afraid of

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<v Speaker 1>entering a catastrophic nuclear war with Russia, but it worked

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<v Speaker 1>a little too well, because the USSR assumed the US

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<v Speaker 1>was actually planning to begin a nuclear war. With mobile

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<v Speaker 1>nukes in submarines and an orbiting system to deflect Soviet missiles.

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<v Speaker 1>These these are i C b ms or intercontinental ballistic missiles,

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<v Speaker 1>the US would be less likely to take the full

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<v Speaker 1>brunt of a Soviet retaliation. This meant that in a

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<v Speaker 1>matter of as little as ten to fifteen minutes, the

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<v Speaker 1>Soviet Union could be reduced to ashes, radiation, and corpses.

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<v Speaker 1>Moscow's brightest minds flew into overtime. The details are sketchy,

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<v Speaker 1>but historians currently believe they brought their answer online. Around

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<v Speaker 1>n It's called mertva Ruka, or the dead hand, at

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<v Speaker 1>least informally. Dead hand is the pet name for a

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<v Speaker 1>monstrous thing known as Perimeter. Perimeter when it was first built,

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<v Speaker 1>was a network linking all of the Soviet Union's nuclear

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<v Speaker 1>weapons to one machine, and it ensured that the country

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<v Speaker 1>could always respond to any nuclear strike even if the

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<v Speaker 1>Soviet government had just been bombed out of existence. This

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<v Speaker 1>is scary stuff, right. What we know about it today

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<v Speaker 1>is largely based on interviews with former Soviet officials, investigations

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<v Speaker 1>by nuclear experts such as the Brookings Institutions, Bruce G. Blair,

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<v Speaker 1>and cryptic open secret esque statements by Russian officials. Now

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<v Speaker 1>the good news. First, it's not one big red button

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<v Speaker 1>in some bunker somewhere. The local security guard can't have

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<v Speaker 1>a bad day playing angry birds and then just destroy

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<v Speaker 1>the world. Here's here's how we think it works. Perimeter

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<v Speaker 1>spends most of its time in a dormant phase, and

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<v Speaker 1>it's only switched on by officials in a state of emergency.

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<v Speaker 1>Once activated, it stays active for fifteen minutes before automatically

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<v Speaker 1>shutting down. During this time, the system monitors the country

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<v Speaker 1>through various arrays of radiation, seismic, and air pressure sensors.

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<v Speaker 1>According to David Hoffman, author of The Dead Hand, the

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<v Speaker 1>Untold Story of the Cold War Arms race in its

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<v Speaker 1>dangerous legacy. Three officers sit in the remote heart of Perimeter,

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<v Speaker 1>a sphere shape fortified bunker deep underground. The system had

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<v Speaker 1>several stages. Perimeter would monitor the sensors for signs of

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<v Speaker 1>a nuclear attack on Russian soil, and also attempt to

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<v Speaker 1>confirm communication with the national command authority. If there's no

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<v Speaker 1>communication with military command and the sensors indicate there has

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<v Speaker 1>been an attack, then the system grants the ability to

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<v Speaker 1>launch to anyone who happens to be in the room.

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<v Speaker 1>If the people or person in the room do decide

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<v Speaker 1>to proceed, the Perimeter launches four small command missiles that

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<v Speaker 1>fly across the country, activating all available nuclear weapons, including

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<v Speaker 1>those on submarines. There are no public indications that the

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<v Speaker 1>Dead Hand has ever been activated, though it has been

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<v Speaker 1>used extensively in war games. However, there's one big question left.

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<v Speaker 1>Is it still around today? People argue back and forth

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<v Speaker 1>on this one. Many signs seem to indicate yes, or

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<v Speaker 1>at least part of it exists, and if so, it

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<v Speaker 1>may be more dangerous than before due to Russia's loss

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<v Speaker 1>of key early warning satellites. When Blair brought this to

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<v Speaker 1>the attention of the US public in many government officials

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<v Speaker 1>were highly skeptical. Sure, they said it's possible, but who

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<v Speaker 1>would do it? Russian officials never confirmed the existence of

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<v Speaker 1>the perimeter system. What we know comes from interviews with

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<v Speaker 1>former officials and advisers, and Inven, the then commander of

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<v Speaker 1>the Russian Strategic Missile Forces, confirmed at least part of

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<v Speaker 1>its existence, that being the communication system to a Russian newspaper.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's episode was written by Ben Bolan and produced by

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<v Speaker 1>Tyler Klang. To hear more from Ben about fringe theories

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<v Speaker 1>and very real conspiracies of history and today, check out

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<v Speaker 1>his podcast Stuff They Don't Want You To Know, And

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<v Speaker 1>of course, for more on this and lots of other topics,

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<v Speaker 1>visit how Stuffworks dot com. Brain Stuff is production of

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