The new Russia is more dangerous than the old. It is a place where chaos is a constant, where old safeguards are eroding or already have fallen away, where nuclear know-how and materials are suddenly for sale. The erosion of authority in Russia also increases the chance that organized crime might engage in the selling of nuclear materials. However, black market sales of military hardware to foreign countries are commonplace and the armed forces are riddled with corruption. Generals and admirals and three top officials are under investigation for corruption and embezzlement. The instability and unrest in the Russian military, whose soldiers receive paychecks on an irregular basis provides ample economic incentive for raising cash by selling arms to the highest bidder. Russia has 100 depots for nuclear arms and materials and only five live up to the necessary standards of security. When soldiers have not been paid for six months and are in charge of nuclear missile sites, the temptation to sell technology and hardware appears to be very attractive. The real threat is Russia's ruthless organized-crime syndicates and corrupt government officials working together to create new markets for nuclear materials and setting up a store that lines it shelves with some of the world's most dangerous weapons on offer. Creating a place where buyers will know to pickup the desired product. Any organized criminal group that has these networks of international outlets and can get access to these materials and forward them to the right buyer has an excellent opportunity to turn a large profit
Russian government officials tipped off to a possible sell of materials needed to create such weapons opened crates to discover thousands of machined parts made from an unfamiliar gunmetal-gray substance. Shipping papers said the weird-looking ingots were beryllium, and that there were 4.4 tons of the stuff stashed in the crates.
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