Russia has revised its defence doctrine to make it easier to press the nuclear button in an international crisis, while unequivocally declaring the West hostile, according to a Guardian front page report today.
A new national security strategy decreed by the acting president, Mr Vladimir Putin, on Monday and to be published today marks a radical shift in Russia's view of the world. It ushers in a policy of "expanded nuclear containment" while pledging to resist Western attempts to dominate the globe.
The strategic shift lowers the threshold at which Russia may resort to nuclear weapons and is the first foreign policy move Mr Putin has taken since replacing Mr Yeltsin in the Kremlin on New Year's Eve.