Ambassador Timerbaev is one of the most influential specialists in the world in the sphere of nuclear nonproliferation and nuclear arms control. He is acclaimed by international expert community primarily as one of the authors of the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons, the cornerstone of entire nuclear nonproliferation regime.

After graduating from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) in 1949, Roland Timerbaev dedicated over 40 years of his professional activity to the diplomatic service first in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union and then of the Russian Federation, retiring in 1992 from the post of Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the International Organizations in Vienna.

Roland Timerbaev actively participated in drafting several key international agreements in the sphere of strategic stability and nuclear non-proliferation, including the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, the Agreement on the Prevention of Nuclear War, the IAEA safeguards system, the Treaty on the Limitation of Underground Nuclear Weapon Tests, and the Peaceful Nuclear Explosions Treaty. In 1974-1978 the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary participated in establishing the Nuclear Suppliers Group. In 1990 Roland Timerbaev put forward an initiative to create national non-governmental organization that would be purposed to contribute to nuclear nonproliferation.

From 1994 to 1998 Roland Timerbaev was PIR Center President and from 1999 to 2010 - Chairman of the Executive Board. Untill his death in 2019 Roland Timerbaev remained our senior colleague as a member of the Advisory Board and kept sharing his rich experience and knowledge with young researchers.

Ambassador Timerbaev had broad academic and teaching experience both at the leading Russian and foreign  research institutions, including Moscow State Institute of International Relations, Moscow Engineering and Physics Institute, James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies.

Numerous publications of Roland Timerbaev on arms control, nonproliferation and disarmament are well known and highly renowned in the expert community. Ambassador's works include ‘The Peaceful Atom in the International Arena’ (1969), ‘Verification of Arms Control and Disarmament’ (1983), ‘The Complete Prohibition of Nuclear Tests’ (1986), ‘Russia and Nuclear Non-proliferation, 1945-1968’ (1999), ‘International Control of Atomic Energy’ (2003), and ‘The Current Status of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Regime and its Prospects: Towards the Upcoming 2005 NPT Review Conference’ (2004). Roland Timerbaev is also the co-author of textbook ‘Nuclear Nonproliferation’ (2002) and encyclopedia of the same name (2009) – these are first comprehensive study guides on nuclear nonproliferation in Russia.

In 2007, ROSSPEN Publishing House in cooperation with PIR Center published Ambassador Timerbaev’s memoirs “Stories of the past: Memoirs about negotiations on non-proliferation and disarmament and much else.”

List of publications:

The Peaceful Atom in the International Arena (1969)

Verification of Arms Control and Disarmament (1983)

The Complete Prohibition of Nuclear Tests (1986)

Russia and Nuclear Non-proliferation, 1945-1968 (1999)

Stories of the past: Memoirs about negotiations on non-proliferation and disarmament and much else. (in Russian) (2007)

PIR Center Library series:

The Nuclear Suppliers Group: Why and How It Was Created,1974-1978. (2000)

Nuclear nonproliferation (in Russian) (2002) 

V.A. Orlov, R.M. Timerbaev, A.V. Khlopkov Nuclear nonproliferation in U.S.-Russian relations: challenges and opportunities (2001)

Our Place in the Universe and Nuclear Weapons: Reflections from a Nuclear Arms Control Negotiator (2019)

PIR Center Study Papers:

No. 1 (1996): The Nuclear Nonproliferation Regime and Security Guarantees for Non-Nuclear States G.Bann R.Timerbaev (In Russian)

No. 12 (1999): Russia and the 2000 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty Review Conference (In Russian)

No. 17 (2001): Proliferation and Nonproliferation in South Asia: Status and Outlook, R.Timerbaev, A. Shilin, V.Fedchenko (In Russian)

No. 22 (2003): International Control of Atomic Energy (In Russian)

№25 (2004): The Nuclear Nonproliferation Regime, Present and Prospects (in Russian)

Journal "Yaderny (Nuclear) Control"/"Security Index"

NPT: for Russia and the world it is better to save it for long time. №1 (1), January, 1995, p.4. (in Russian)

Nuclear disarmament: Are five nuclear states committed enough under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty? № 3 (3), March 1995. p.2 (co-authored) (in Russian)

How is the preparation for the extension of the NPT proceeding. Report from New York from the 4th session. № 3 (3), March 1995, p. 10 (in Russian)

The NPT is extended indefinitely. What is next? № 9 (9), September, 1995, p.19 (in Russian)

How feasible is the creation of the nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East? №12 (12), December, 1995, p.7 (in Russian)

The procees of the NPT implementation (to the session of the Preparatory Committee for the Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons). № 2 (26), February, 1997, p. 2. (in Russian)

Nuclear weapons and the security of Russia. № 4 (28), April, 1997, p. 22. (in Russian)

International Atomic Energy Agency and its activities in the field of control and regulation (to the 40th anniversary of the International Atomic Energy Agency). № 32–33, August-September, 1997, p. 3. (in Russian)

Nuclear Encyclopedia. № 30–31, June-July, 1997, p. 45 (co-authored) (in Russian)

The future of US nuclear weapons policy. № 32–33, August-September, 1997, p. 45. (in Russian)

Attitude of Academician Kapitsa and some other Soviet scientists to the atomic project, to the atomic bomb and its control. No. 1 (37), January – February, 1998, p. 65. (in Russian)

Russia and Security 1997–1998. Russia and the international arms control system: development or collapse. No. 1 (37), January-February 1998, p. 83. (in Russian)

How the Soviet Union Helped China Develop the A-bomb. No. 2-3 (8), Summer-Fall 1998, p.44

How the IAEA Safeguards System was Developed: Political Aspects (1959–1965). No. 4 (40), July – August 1998, p. 68. (in Russian)

The history of the development of control provisions of the NPT (political aspects). No. 5 (41), September – October 1998, p. 67. (in Russian)

Towards a New Nuclear Arms Limitation Treaty (Negotiations Resume on Banning the Production of Fissile Materials for Nuclear Weapons) No. 4 (9), Winter 1998/1999, p.43

Prospects of the entry into force of the CTBT. No. 3 (45), May – June 1999, p. 67 (in Russian)

Israel and the bomb. No. 4 (46), July – August 1999, p. 85. (in Russian)

A. A. Gromyko and the problem of nuclear nonproliferation. No. 6 (48), November – December 1999, p. 81. (in Russian)

The NPT: another exam has been passed. New ones - ahead. № 4 (52), July-August 2000, p. 4 (co-authored) (in Russian)

Russia and the 2000 NPT Review Conference No. 1 (13), Winter 2000, p.25

Dealing with Cold War Nuclear Legacy: Russian Perspective. No. 3 (15), Summer 2000, p.28

ABM/NMD and the START Process. No 4 (16), Fall 2000,p.37 

Indian nuclear bomb. Impact on global proliferation. No. 4 (52), July – August 2000, p. 83. (in Russian) 

The initiative of President Putin at the UN Millennium Summit. No. 6 (54), November – December 2000, p. 62 (co-authored) (in Russian)

The first step to prudence in the nuclear world. (The history of the conclusion of the 1963 Moscow Treaty on the Partial Prohibition of Nuclear Tests). No. 1 (55), January – February 2001, p. 73 (co-authored) (in Russian)

State and prospects of nuclear nonproliferation. No. 2 (56), March – April 2001, p. 24. (in Russian) 

The Time to Enhance Cooperation on Broad Range of Security Issues. (co-authored) No. 2 (22), Spring 2002, p.35

US-Russian November Summit: An Important but Insufficient Step. (co-authored)  No. 2 (22), Spring 2002, p.35

India: a rising star. No. 2 (62), March – April 2002, p. 73. (in Russian)

Democratic control over the military sphere in Russia and the CIS countries. No. 3 (63), May – June 2002, p. 84. (in Russian)

2005 Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons: How the preparation for the conference is going. No. 4 (64), July – August 2002, p. 51. (in Russian)

Leo Szilard and international control of atomic energy. No. 5 (65), September – October 2002, p. 68. (in Russian)

Deadly Arsenals. No. 2 (68), summer 2003, p. 161. (in Russian)

Middle East and the nuclear issue. No. 3 (69), fall 2003, p. 15 (in Russian)

The preparations for the 2005 NPT Review Conference No. 3 (69), Autumn 2003, p. 101. (in Russian)

The role of the UN in today's world. No. 3-4 (31-32), Summer/Fall 2004, p.46 

Tritium - freeze. No. 4 (70), winter 2003, p. 151. (in Russian)

Arms control. Joseph Goldblatt. A new guide to negotiations and agreements. No. 1 (71), spring 2004, p. 173. (in Russian)

The problems of preparation for the 2005 NPT Review Conference. No. 3 (73), Autumn 2004, p. 101. (in Russian)

The Right to Withdrawal from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT): The Views of Two NPT Negotiators. (co-authored) No. 1-2 (33-34), Winter/Spring 2005, p.20

The Evolution of Arms Control: Current Trends. By Roland Timerbaev. No. 3-4 (35-36), summer/Fall2005, p.59

Lessons learned from the 4th 1990 NPT Review Conference No. 1 (75), Spring 2005, p. 171 (in Russian)

South Africa: how its nuclear weapons were created, how and why the state abandoned them. No. 2 (76), summer 2005, p. 121. (in Russian)

The nuclear potential and nuclear policy of China. No. 4 (78), winter 2005, p. 83. (in Russian)

The agreements between the USSR and the USA of 1971 on measures to reduce the risk of a nuclear war. No. 4 (78), winter 2005, p. 131. (in Russian)

How the USSR helped China create an atomic bomb. No. 3 (41), May – June 1998, p. 76; No. 2 (80), summer 2006, p. 167 ( in Russian)

ON THE "THRESHOLD" TEST BAN TREATIES OF 1974-76. SECURITY INDEX №2 (82), 2007

The Role of the Nuclear Factor in the Modern World.  №3 (85), 2008. 

On Libya, Antimissile Defense, as Well as Other Autobiographical Events.  №1 (83), 2008.

The problem of security guarantees for non-nuclear states ahead of the NPT Review Conference. No. 4 (87), winter 2008, p. 69. ( in Russian)

Nuclear-Weapon-Free-World: Ways of Moving Ahead.  No. 2 (87), Volume 15.

First Steps towards Arms Limitation. No. 3 (92), Summer 2010.

Fissile Material Cutoff: New Chances for the New Life. No. 1 (90), Winter 2010.