By Douglas Waller

When the Communists of old ruled Russia, Americans had one overriding concern-the threat of nuclear war. Would the return of the Communists under Gennadi Zyuganov revive that threat? A senior Clinton aide answers, not very reassuringly: "We would obviously be entering an uncertain era."

As president, Zyuganov would inherit a nuclear arsenal that is only a shell of what it once was, and since the economy is in such bad shape, he could never embark on a new arms build-up. In 1990, Russia had 11,000 strategic warheads; today it has lowered that number (ahead of schedule) to nearly 6,000, the level required by the first Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. The Duma has not ratified START II, but even if that treaty does not come into effect, U.S. intelligence officials predict that by the next decade Russia will have only 2,000 warheads since many will have aged and will have to be retired. The air and submarine legs of the nuclear force are deteriorating as well.

Russia nonetheless remains a formidable nuclear power. With 6,000 warheads it could effectively destroy the U.S. 20 times over. Almost 2,000 warheads sit atop well-maintained ICBMs that can be launched with less than a half hour's notice. Boris Yeltsin and Bill Clinton made an agreement not to point ICBMs at each other's country, but it takes only a few minutes to retarget them. Russian submarines can fire their missiles from port if they have to.

ABOVE: Russia continues to dismantle nuclear weapons
Vladimir Mashatin0