A very thoughtful read, and an intriguing idea. Russia’s military is a paper tiger, so it stands to reason we should extend that corruption to the nuclear deterrent. Where did the oligarchs draw the line when stealing from the government? Is stealing from a mechanized brigade okay, but they draw the line at stealing from the nuclear program? I don’t think so. Still, statistically, the sheer number of nukes that Russia has means at least a few still work. And one is all they need to kick off a wider war.