This extraordinary memoir by a leading Russian scientist who worked for decades at the nerve center of the top-secret "Biopreparat" offers a chilling look into the biological weapons program of the former Soviet Union, vestiges of which still exist today in the Russian Federal Republic. Igor Domaradskij calls himself an "inconvenient man": a dedicated scientist but a nonconformist who was often in conflict with government and military apparatchiks. In this book he reveals the deadly nature of the research he participated in for almost fifteen years. From 1950 till 1973, Domaradskij played an increasingly important role as a specialist in the area of epidemic bacterial infections. He was largely responsible for an effective system of plague control within the former USSR, which prevented mass outbreaks of rodent-born diseases. But after twenty-three years of making significant scientific contributions, his work was suddenly redirected. -- From the publisher.

1. Origins -- 2. Growing up -- 3. "First steps along the way" -- 4. In Siberia -- 5. Advancement -- 6. "Problem no. 5" -- 7. A short history of bioweapons in the Soviet Union -- 8. Renaissance (the new stage) -- 9. My laboratory and the "plasmid" program -- 10. The work begins -- 11. The end of my administrative career -- 12. A new place : "in the city without Jews" -- 13.The "autocrat" -- 14. Robbery -- 15. Sunset -- 16. Return to Moscow -- 17. Frightening times -- 18. An inglorious finish -- 19. The final stage.