In a tense climate between Washington and Moscow, Dmitri Medvedev rekindled the specter of the Cold War by evoking the ” dead hand“. A Soviet automatic nuclear response system. A direct threat addressed to Donald Trump, in a context of increased tensions around Ukraine.
A threat from another era
On July 31, former Russian president Dmitri Medvedev relaunched a Ancient nuclear fear. On his telegram, he warns Donald Trump, ” That he can remember the danger of “dead hand”. »A cryptic message, accompanied by a mocking emoji and a post-apocalyptic reference to the series The Walking Dead.
The American answer is not long in coming. On August 1, Donald Trump announced the deployment of two American nuclear submarines In ” Appropriate areas“, Without specifying which ones. He justifies this decision by the words ” insane and incendiary »From Medvedev. The tension rises from a notch between the two nuclear powers. With her, a question, the future of these threats?
An automatic response system
Designed in the years 1980 by the Soviet Union, the system ” Perimeter“, Nicknamed” the dead hand “is a unique nuclear deterrence device. Its principle, ensure a response even if all the Russian command centers are destroyed.
In The Dead HandAmerican journalist David E. Hoffman traces the history of this ultra-secret project. Faced with US military advances, including the Spatial anti -missile shield project announced by Ronald Reagan, the Soviets fear a paralyzing surprise attack. Their answer: a technology to “deadly failure”.
Concretely, if a nuclear strike is detected by seismic or radiation sensors, and if communications with the staff are interrupted, ” Perimeter ” can automatically order The launch of nuclear warheads.
This system would be operational today, according to Russian military sources. It would have been modernized over time, But its exact functioning remains surrounded by mystery.
Between reality and deterrence
Officially, the “perimeter” system would only be activated extreme crisiswith prior decision of the Russian leaders. According to Valery Yarynich, a Soviet veteran who participated in the project, the objective was “Avoid a tragic error“. Clearly, prevent a precipitated reaction in the event of a false alert, while ensuring a destructive response in the event of a real attack.
“” This made it possible to calm all these extremists and these burned heads“, Explained Russian engineer Alexander Zheleznyakov. He even talks about ” revenge“. A form of ultimate nuclear life insurance for Russia.
But an uncertainty persists. The outbreak of the ” dead hand »Is he totally automated? Or does it require, as a last resort, a launch made by man. According to the Foundation for Strategic Research (FRS), the system would be semi-automatic. A handful of officers, entrenched in a secure position, should validate the launch order if the command network is destroyed.
This blur feeds the symbolic power of the system. Unlike the United States, which disabled its automatic response device in 1991, Russia continues to hover the shadow of the ” dead hand In his strategic doctrine.
A resurrected cold war climate
The resurgence of this threat is not trivial. She occurs while Donald Trump, returned to the White House in 2025, tone in the tone against Moscow. He gives Russia ten days to stop hostilities in Ukraineunder penalty of new economic sanctions. For Medvedev, it is one more step ” war“.
The former Russian president, who became a key figure in the hard line of the Kremlin, has chosen his words carefully. By evoking ” The dead hand“, He plays on An imaginary end of the world. That of an almost total nuclear conflict, where no one controls anything, not even the missiles.
It is this freezing perspective that he intends to revive. Not to strike, but to dissuade. The objective being to recall that Russia still has extreme means if it feels cornered. Russia wants to be provocative and focuses on fear to assert itself at the table major global powers.
