No, Russia Isn't Trying to Make Nuclear War Easier (Olga Oliker, The National Interest)

Somehow, the notion that Russia has lowered its nuclear threshold has become a truism in recent years. Analysts and officials alike repeat the conventional wisdom that Russia’s doctrine is one of “escalate to de-escalate.” They reference Russian development of small-scale nuclear weapons, or nuclear“scalpels,” and Russian modernization more generally as evidence of the danger Russia poses. These arguments are used often, if not always, to indicate that the United States and its NATO allies should also consider lowering theirnuclear threshold and/or developing new, smaller, more usable nuclear systems

http://nationalinterest.org/feature/no-russia-isnt-trying-make-nuclear-war-easier-16310

Russia’s Nuclear Doctrine (Olga Oliker, CSIS)

What are Russia’s plans for its nuclear weapons? As tensions between Russia and the West have grown over the last two years, Kremlin officials have appeared to emphasize Russia’s nuclear capacity and perhaps even threaten its use. This has led some Western analysts to argue that Russia now has a low threshold for nuclear war: a terrifying proposition. But is this really Russia’s strategy, or is something else going on? And either way, what might be the most effective U.S. and NATO response? In this report, the author argues that the evidence Russia has lowered its threshold for nuclear use is far from convincing. Rather, Russia’s statements and behavior indicate more a desire to leverage its status as a nuclear power—less a lowering of the threshold than a reminder that escalation is possible and that Russia must therefore be taken seriously.

http://csis.org/publication/russias-nuclear-doctrine

Unpacking Russia's New National Security Strategy (Olga Oliker, CSIS)

http://csis.org/publication/unpacking-russias-new-national-security-strategy