Russian Anti-plague Facilities

One of the fascinating things in "The Bonus" is the Department of Homeland Security's concern for terrorists' potential use of the pathogens harbored in the old Russian anti-plague facilities. These are scientific facilities that the Russians established initially as defensive measures against diseases that might enter Russia (or the Soviet Union in general) but later became offensive in nature stockpiling smallpox, bubonic plague and many other deadly diseases for use in biological warfare.

The truly scary thing about these facilities is that most of the controls over them vanished with the break-up of the Soviet Union so that they now are run by local governments. It is generally recognized that these facilities and their dangerous contents are not well managed or controlled and are a potential source for a worldwide catastrophe if better management is not instituted by the international community.  This is not science fiction. See, for example, this excellent NTI article for more information. And read in "The Bonus" the chilling concern the Department of Homeland Security has with regard to these facilities and their volatile pathogens.