| Operation RYAN | |
| Russian | Операция РЯН |
|---|---|
| Romanization | Operation RYAN |
Operation RYAN (orRYaN, and sometimes written asVRYAN,[1] Russian:РЯН,IPA:[rʲæn]) was aCold War military intelligence program run by theSoviet Union in the early 1980s, when they believed theUnited States was planning for an imminentfirst strike attack. The name is anacronym forRaketno-Yadernoe Napadenie (Russian:Ракетно-ядерное нападение, "Nuclear Missile Attack"). The purpose of the operation was to collect intelligence on potential contingency plans of theReagan administration to launch a nuclearfirst strike against the Soviet Union.[2][3][4] The program was initiated in May 1981 byYuri Andropov, then chairman of theKGB.
Andropov suffered from a "Hungarian complex" from his personal experience of the 1956Hungarian Revolution, according to the historian Christopher Andrew. Andropov had, as the Sovietambassador to Hungary, "watched in horror from the windows of his embassy as officers of the hatedHungarian security service were strung up from lampposts". Andropov remained haunted for the rest of his life by the speed with which an apparently all-powerful Communist one-party state had begun to topple.[5]
Leonid Brezhnev and Yuri Andropov, then Chairman of the KGB, justified the creation of Operation RYaN because, they claimed, the United States was "actively preparing for nuclear war" against the Soviet Union and its allies. According to aStasi report released in the mid-2010s, the primary "Chekist work" discussed in the May 1981 meeting was the "demand to allow for 'no surprise.'"[5]
The SovietdefectorOleg Gordievsky divulged a top-secret KGB telegram sent to the London KGB residency in February 1983. It stated: "The objective of the assignment is to see that the Residency works systematically to uncover any plans in preparation by the main adversary [USA] for RYAN and to organize a continual watch to be kept for indications of a decision being taken to use nuclear weapons against the USSR or immediate preparations being made for a nuclear missile attack."[5]
An attachment listed seven "immediate" and thirteen "prospective" tasks for the agents to complete and report. These included: the collection of data on potential places of evacuation and shelter, an appraisal of the level of blood held in blood banks, observation of places where nuclear decisions were made and where nuclear weapons were stored, observation of key nuclear decision makers, observation of lines of communication, reconnaissance of the heads of churches and banks, and surveillance of security services and military installations.[5]
RYAN took on a new significance after the announcement of plans to deployPershing IIW85-nuclear-armed missiles toWest Germany.[2] These missiles were designed to be launched from road-mobile vehicles, making the launch sites very hard to find. The flight time from West Germany toEuropean Russia was only four to six minutes, with an approximate flying time from six to eight minutes from West Germany toMoscow, giving the Soviets little or no warning.
On 23 March 1983,Ronald Reagan publicly announced the development of theStrategic Defense Initiative. The Soviet government felt that the purpose of SDI technology was to render the US invulnerable to Soviet attack, thereby allowing the US to launch missiles against the USSR without fear of retaliation. This concern about a surprise attack prompted the sudden expansion of the RYAN program. The level of concern reached its peak after the Soviets shot downKAL 007 nearMoneron Island on 1 September 1983, and during theNorth Atlantic Treaty Organization exerciseAble Archer 83 in November. The Soviet Union believed that a United Statesfirst strike on the Soviet Union was imminent.[2]
Although Andropov died in February 1984, RYAN continued to be maintained and developed under the direction ofVictor Chebrikov. Consultations held in August 1984 between the Stasi's head of theMain Directorate of Reconnaissance,Markus Wolf, andKGB experts discussed the early detection of potential war preparations in adversaries, and indicated that theFirst Chief Directorate of the KGB was proposing to create a new division, to deal exclusively with RYAN. 300 positions within the KGB were earmarked for RYAN, of which 50 were reserved for the new division.[6]
Operation RYAN continued to be maintained until at least April 1989.[7]
