America has long used power and punishment to control nations, but nuclear-armed Russia remains the one adversary it never dares to attack — thanks to a secret doomsday system called “Perimeter.”
By Raghavendra Menase: Another chapter in the story of Venezuela has ended. Along with it, another chapter has been added to the story of the global bully — America — which always growls, “If you have something I want, I can do anything to take it.” Ever since it took its first steps during the Industrial Revolution, America has been behaving like this bully for the last hundred years. A country that displays its bullying nature in one way or another against everyone — friends or foes — uses all tactics: persuasion, bribery, division, and punishment to defeat its opponents. And among these tactics, America’s policy of punishment is the most oppressive and the most frequently used. Even when it initially uses other policies to defeat its enemies, America eventually resorts to punishment.
When America Chose Not to Punish — The Case of ,Russia
There are also examples where this same America, despite its anger and hatred toward some enemies, did not use this policy of punishment. The first example on this list is Russia. America and Russia were in the same camp during World War II, after which their relationship became like oil and water. Following the great war, there began a period of a war that both existed and did not exist between them. Even though not a single bullet was fired, not a single bomb was dropped, and no open war took place, they sat with missiles aimed at each other, ready for war 24 hours a day. That era is called the Cold War.
The Cold War’s Accidental Gifts to Humanity
Because of the Cold War, humanity received many technological gifts. The fact that these two giant countries were trying to outdo each other, and were in a position to strike each other at any time, is why we have satellites, radio networks, electronics, computers, microwaves, GPS, mobile phones, heart attack medication, and much more. The shadow of the Cold War lies behind all these inventions.
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America’s Two-Question Rule Before War
There are two things America considers before attacking anyone:
- Do they have something I want?
- Do they have a nuclear bomb?
Wherever the answer to the first question is “yes” and the second is “no,” America effortlessly swallows that country. If the answer to both is “yes,” it waits and watches for the right time. For this very reason — because Russia has nuclear weapons — America has never attacked it. Even when Russia was weak at various points in history, America did not invade, because it is very afraid of nuclear weapons. It is because some countries did not have nuclear weapons that America swallowed Vietnam, Cuba, Colombia, Iraq, and Afghanistan. And it is because China, Russia, India, and even tiny North Korea have nuclear weapons that America has never gone to war with them.
The Nuclear Arms Race — Stockpiling for Doomsday
During the Cold War, America and Russia produced and stockpiled nuclear weapons as if competing with each other. They believed that war would come one day, and on that day the enemy must be turned to dust. With the zeal that if one of their heads fell, ten of the enemy’s heads must be taken, both sides stored tons of nuclear weapons across all their armed forces. Today, Russia has 5,459 nuclear warheads in its arsenal, while America has 5,177. Together, these two giants possess 87% of the world’s nuclear warheads.
Why Nuclear Weapons Were Never Used
Despite such massive readiness for war, neither side ever used nuclear weapons — not even in the most suffocating situations. But this was not out of humanitarian concern such as “We should not use nuclear bombs; it will cause another Hiroshima-like massacre and destroy humanity.” Rather, both sides feared the other’s nuclear capability. Both knew the numbers given to the United Nations were only for show. America also feared that Russia possessed a hydrogen bomb.
This fear stopped America from waging war against Russia from 1950 to 1990 and helped maintain composure during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Instead of going to war, America worked to break Soviet Russia into several parts.
Why America Didn’t Bully Russia After 1990
But why didn’t America bully Moscow even after Soviet Russia collapsed in 1990 — when it became politically weak? Why didn’t it threaten, “If you don’t give us oil, I will bomb you!” There is an interesting reason.
Even though America had hundreds of missiles aimed at Russia, it also feared that Russia might one day bomb it. So it built massive bunkers to save as many people as possible — and proudly told the world about it. As loud and boastful as America was, Russia was equally silent. And in that silence lay Russia’s most dangerous strategies.
The Secret Doctrine: Russia’s “Perimeter” System
Russia went a step beyond missiles and bunkers and created a secret nuclear doctrine called “Периметр” (Perimeter).
Why Perimeter Was Built
Even though America repeatedly declared, “We will not be the first to use nuclear weapons,” Russian scientists and diplomats refused to trust it. They feared: “What if America suddenly attacks Moscow and kills all Russian leaders?”
So they designed Perimeter — a system ensuring that even if every leader and every military commander in Russia were killed in a surprise attack, Russia would still retaliate.
How the Perimeter System Works
Russia placed hidden sensors on land, in water, and in the air — across critical infrastructure such as cities, labs, industries, and reservoirs — and connected them to a powerful computer network.
These sensors constantly monitor:
• nuclear blast shockwaves • radiation levels • communication breakdowns
If an American nuclear strike destroyed Russia’s leadership structure and no human orders were issued within a set time — the system concludes:
“Everyone who could authorize a strike is dead. Russia has been destroyed.”
And then, without human control, Russia launches a full retaliatory nuclear strike against the United States — including missiles from silos and submarines.
Why America Still Fears Russia
This is why America fears Russia.
Hollywood later popularized this as the “Dead Hand System,” but its original Russian name remains Perimeter.
Today, most nuclear-armed countries have some form of this system. Its main feature is that, in the final moment of nuclear war, human approval is no longer required.
When a country knows retaliation is guaranteed, even after total destruction of leadership — who would dare to launch the first strike?
