This week we will be reading a 960-page book about the Soviet bioweapons program.

...No, just kidding, although such a comprehensive book does exist (Amazon Link). Instead, we will be reading a condensed paper by one of the authors of said book, commissioned by the Center for the Study of Weapons of Mass Destruction.

Paper

Summary: "This paper explores the Soviet Union’s pursuit of a dual-phased biological warfare (BW) program known as Biopreparat. More specifically, the text’s author 1) describes the first phase of the Cold War program; 2) highlights the geopolitical, military and scientific reasons why the Soviets initiated a second generation program in 1972; and 3) speculates on whether the Putin administration might start a third generation BW effort in the future." – summary from the Center for Security Studies in Zurich