Russian nuclear arsenal and its ability

     One of the biggest arguments against the West full entering the war in the Ukraine was the threat that Russia will use it massive nuclear stockpile.  When the Russians did the invasion, they released never before seen footage of the tzar Bomba the largest nuclear weapon ever detonated.  This was a scare tactic used to threaten the west.  saying do not forget we have these too and we have more nuclear weapons than any other nation state.  And yes, the Russians do have more nukes that anyone, some 5600 where America comes in a close second at about 5500.  The Russian have some 1700 in ready status.  meaning these weapons are ready to launch at any moment.  1000- are "tactical" bombs for battlefield use. 2670 in storage and the rest some 1200 are slated for decommission but can be pressed into use if needed.   that's a ton of firecrackers more than enough to destroy the world as we know it.

    Now that we have a bit of an idea of the number of weapons we are looking at what is the over under that they will work?  

        There are several reasons to question the readiness of the Russian nuclear system.  One factor is maintenance of the weapons and the cost of it.  last year the United States spent over fifty billion dollars just in the upkeep of our nuclear stockpile.  That is the total amount the Russians spent on their ENTIRE military last year.  these systems are very costly people originally thought the bulk of the cost is in development but in reality, it's the upkeep.  the core's need changing about every 12 - 15 years. electronic components need monitored and replaced on a regular basis.  the fuel in the ICBM need cycled and so on and so forth.  The Russians simply do not have the hard currency at hand to do all the proper upkeep.  Not only that but graft and corruption run rampant and.  After the fall of the Soviet Union the military fell on hard times and a lot of systems were put on the back burner including the nuclear program.  The west took notice of this issue and steep in and bought up a lot of the nuclear material so it would not fall into the wrong hands.  After the reconstruction of the country corruption never went away and some reports state it speed up.  Look at the current state of the Russian army Putin thought that its current invasion to the Ukraine would be a cake walk, and the Russian bear will walk all over the smaller Ukraine army and the fighting would only last a few weeks.  But when the reality set in and the world saw how bad the Russians are it put the Kremlin on its heals with vehicles running out of gas due to the fuel being sold on the black market, the armor on the tanks not working as intended because of graft and the money being stolen and fake armor added to "look" good.  body armor for the soldiers not working the list can go on and on.  so, did the nuclear pile get hit with the corruption?  the answer is yes.  now are all the weapons duds? now I'm willing to bet a sold cross section are capable of causing a bad day.  But Russia has no idea what ones will and won't work and they are not willing to show the cards.  So the Russians will bluff they will do what they are great at pretending they are a much larger threat then they are.  

    Most feel that the Russians have basically stopped the basic upkeep on their nuclear stockpile because they know they will never use the weapons on the battlefield.   But they will threaten the use and that threat alone is enough to cause fear in the hearts of most countries. and this deterrent alone will always let them have a seat at the table.  

     In conclusion Russia is a nuclear nation with the capability of a nuclear war, but the capability of the stockpile is greatly reduced from its former standing.  it is something to think about when at the negotiation table, but it is a bluff work taking Russia will blink first.  they understand that their capability is nothing to that of the Americans.  Putin will saber rattle but it will be just that rattling.