Biopreparat
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2008-03-16T15:01:17Z
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'''Biopreparat''' ([[Russian language|Russian]]: Биопрепарат, English: "Biological substance preparation") was the [[Soviet Union]]'s major [[biological warfare]] agency.
==Overview==
Biopreparat was established in [[1973]]. Its 30,000 employees helped to develop research and to produce [[biological warfare|pathogenic weapons]] for use in a major war. The project was reportedly initiated by academician [[Yuri Ovchinnikov]] who convinced [[Leonid Brezhnev]] that development of biological weapons was necessary <ref name="Alibek"/>. The research at Biopreparat constituted a violation by the Soviet Union of the terms of the [[Biological Weapons Convention]] of 1972 that outlawed biological weapons. The Biopreparat complex suffered with the collapse of the [[Soviet Union]]. Since then several large bioweapons production lines have been officially closed. Its current state is unknown, however it is likely that Biopreparat and successor entities continued bioweapons research and development at least through the 1990s. <ref name="Alibek"> Alibek,K. and S. Handelman. ''Biohazard: The Chilling True Story of the Largest Covert Biological Weapons Program in the World - Told from Inside by the Man Who Ran it.'' 1999. Delta (2000) ISBN 0-385-33496-6 [http://www.amazon.com/dp/0385334966/] </ref>
Biopreparat was the largest producer of weaponized anthrax in the Soviet Union. Additionally, Biopreparat was a leader in the development of new bioweapons technologies.
Pathogens that were successfully weaponized by the organization included (in order of completion):
* [[Smallpox]]
* [[Bubonic plague]]
* [[Anthrax disease|Anthrax]]
* [[Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus|Venezuelan equine encephalitis]]
* [[Tularemia]]
* [[Influenza]]
* [[Brucellosis]]
* [[Marburg virus]] (believed to be under development as of [[1992]])
* [[Ebola]] (believed to be under development as of 1992)
* [[Machupo virus]] (believed to be under development as of 1992)
* Veepox (hybrid of Venezuelan equine encephalitis with smallpox)
* Ebolapox (hybrid of ebola with smallpox)
Annual production capacities for many of the above listed pathogens were in the tens of tons, typically with redundant production facilities located throughout the Soviet Union. The anthrax production facility in [[Sverdlovsk]] became well-known because of the [[1979]] accident and was since then prominently featured in the Western press (see also [[Sverdlovsk anthrax leak]]).
Dr. [[Kanatjan Alibekov]] (also known as Ken Alibek), was the First Deputy Director of Biopreparat from [[1988]] to 1992, when he defected to the [[United States]]. Dr. Alibekov wrote the book ''[[Biohazard (book)|Biohazard]]'' detailing his extensive inside knowledge of the structure, goals, operations and achievements of Biopreparat. Dr. Alibekov was also featured in the October 13, 1998 episode of [[Frontline (PBS TV series)]].
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
* http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/plague/
* http://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/11813/
* [http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/russia/agency/bw.htm Information about Biopreparat from FAS]
* [http://www.technologyreview.com/BioTech/wtr_16485,306,p1.html MIT Technology Review article featuring a lecture by Dr. Serguei Popov, a former Biopreparat researcher working on recombinant DNA techniques for developing novel biological weapons ]
* [http://cns.miis.edu/pubs/opapers/op1/op1.htm Article from James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies report: "FORMER SOVIET BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS FACILITIES IN KAZAKHSTAN: PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE". Also describes Biopreparat in some detail.]
[[Category:Biological warfare]]
[[Category:Weapons of Russia]]
[[Category:Science and technology in the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Defence companies of the Soviet Union]]
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