BOLSHOI KAMEN, Russia -- Propped up onshore amid heaps of scrap metal at the Zvezda shipyard is one of the largest vehicles ever to cruise the planet -- the five-story hulk of a submarine that once carried intercontinental ballistic missiles targeting the United States.
The submarine -- caked in barnacles, reeking like a mud flat at low tide -- is one of six Delta- and Yankee-class submarines that this shipyard has scrapped under a program sponsored by the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency. The Japanese government has also helped fund the processing of radioactive waste removed from the submarines.
From a military perspective, the beached sea warrior is a success story, an example of international cooperation in helping Russia safely dismantle weapons of mass destruction -- as required under treaties with the U.S. But as Zvezda begins processing radioactive waste in modern facilities this month, it is attempting to emerge from a history that also includes stunning failures.