Access to the naval base of Andreeva Guba on the Kola Peninsula is tightly controlled by the Russian military; outsiders are not allowed on the "special" boat that takes passengers there from Zazimsk. A guard monitors an alarm system around the clock. The facility, like most in the Russian nuclear complex, is designed to protect its nuclear depots from outsiders and repel an attack. But, as this case shows, there is little protection against insider theft.
The complicity of the guard on duty at the alarm post is all that is necessary to pull off a theft. This is precisely what happened on the night of July 29, 1993, says Military Prosecutor Mikhail Kulik, who investigated the case. The alarm wire, running exposed on the ground, was clipped and the padlock on a nuclear fuel storehouse was pried off with a metal bar. The thieves took two fuel rods, each eight feet long, and carried them to a deserted building on the territory of the base. There, they cut off the active section of the rod, which contained 1.8 kilograms of 36% enriched uranium, and hid it in the woods outside the base. The guard on duty, Antonov, was immediately a prime suspect; he eventually admitted his guilt, along with another sailor from the base, Popov.
The clumsy manner in which the thieves carried out this theft makes it unsurprising that the culprits were caught. However, it also indicates the ease with which Russian security measures can be breached. The material was recovered shortly after the theft. The two sailors who confessed to the crime were sentenced to four and five year sentences. The sailors claimed to have stolen the rods with the help of two officers from the base. The officers were tried along with the sailors, but acquitted for lack of proof.

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