Russian Nonlethal Weapons

For several years now Russian military authors have discussed the definition and potential use of nonlethal weapons (NLWs). NLWs are used as a crowd-control mechanism or a more humane way to conduct armed conflict. The latter type of NLWs include ways to capture or immobilize people hiding in buildings or behind barricades instead of killing them. Most definitions of the term center on these uses. What is difficult to ascertain is how advanced Russian efforts are in the production of NLWs since most such experiments are conducted in secret laboratories. Since Russia believes that the U.S. is developing NLW incapacitants (and they discuss U.S. regulations and purported capabilities in some detail in their writings), they are likely to use such accusations to verify their own developments.