Petr Suchý. (source: Archive of P. S.)
The Soviet Union deployed nuclear weapons even to the territories of its satellites, and during the Cold War they probably reached Czechoslovakia as well.
Petr Suchý, an expert on the role of nuclear weapons in international relations from Masaryk University in Brno, explains how Czechoslovak nuclear weapons could have been used, how the Soviet Union also kept the deployment of ballistic missiles to the country a secret from the US, and why Slovakia still possessed them for a long time afterwards.
"Czechoslovakia clearly had carriers that we call dual-use. This means that they could carry conventional weapons, explosives, but nuclear weapons as well; whether they were rockets, airplanes, or some types of cannons that could launch nuclear missiles," he says.
In the interview, he also describes how the intercontinental ballistic missile that former Slovak President Rudolf Schuster received for his 70th birthday from former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma worked in the past.
Were there ever nuclear weapons in Czechoslovakia?
Very likely yes, from about the second half of the 1960s until the end of the Cold War. However, there is still some speculation about how many. The Soviet Union was very reserved and distrustful of even its most loyal vassals. Therefore, it preferred to store large numbers of nuclear warheads on its own territory, with the provision that in the event of escalation of tensions, they would be moved to bases in western satellites. In addition, carriers capable of carrying the warheads were deployed in Czechoslovakia.
What types of nuclear weapons were in Czechoslovakia?
The ballistic missiles and other missiles deployed had different ranges. According to Soviet classification, Czechoslovakia had tactical missiles with a range of up to 50 kilometres, operational-tactical missiles with a range of 50 to 300 kilometres, operational with a range of 300 to 500 kilometres, and operational-strategic with a range of 500 to 1000 kilometres. An example of tactical ones would be the Frog-3 rocket (Soviet name 2K6 Luna - Ed. note). These missiles, along with many others, were deployed in Cuba in 1962 and played a very dangerous role in the Cuban Missile Crisis.
The most important carrier in Czechoslovakia was deployed just 40 years ago at the end of 1983. This was the SS-12 ballistic missile (Soviet designation TR-1 Temp-S) with a range of 800 to 900 kilometres. Soviet and Czechoslovak propaganda justified the deployment by the fact that the United States began deploying ballistic missiles to West Germany and other European NATO states. Despite the fact that the Soviet Union constantly declared that the United States had nuclear superiority, it later had to destroy up to a thousand more such missiles than the US.
What exactly is the difference between a nuclear weapon, carrier and warhead?
A carrier is the means that will bring a nuclear weapon to its destination. A nuclear warhead is a nuclear device that can be placed on a selected type of carrier and can be integrated with it. When we talk about a nuclear weapon, this represents a carrier integrated with a nuclear warhead, for example, an intercontinental ballistic missile. It's a carrier and one or more nuclear warheads fixed on top. Czechoslovakia clearly had carriers that we call dual-use. This means that they could carry conventional weapons, explosives, but also nuclear weapons. Whether they were rockets, airplanes, or some types of cannons that could launch nuclear missiles.
How did the Soviet Union decide that they wanted to place nuclear weapons in Czechoslovakia?
The Soviet Union perceived the territories of its Western satellites as a suitable buffer zone to minimise damage, population and infrastructure losses in a possible confrontation with the West. For that reason, it sent its own troops to some satellites and in addition to conventional forces, placed nuclear forces there as well, in an attempt to have these assets closer to the site of a supposed conflict, which would be along the line of the Iron Curtain.
