The Soviet 'Newcomer' designed to bypass the world's chemical arms control

Cultures · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Born from a secret Soviet program called Foliant, Novichok agents were engineered to be invisible to NATO detection equipment. These deadly organophosphates were designed to circumvent international treaties, using stable precursors that only transform into lethal nerve agents at the moment of deployment.

Developed in the 1980s at the GosNIIOKhT institute in Moscow, the Novichok group—meaning 'newcomer'—was a strategic attempt to gain an advantage over the United States. The Soviet Union focused on creating binary weapons, where two relatively safe precursor chemicals are separated by a physical barrier. When the weapon is deployed, these chemicals mix to form the active, highly toxic agent. This method allowed for easier transport and a longer shelf life, as the precursors are much more stable than the finished nerve agent.

The biological mechanism of Novichont is devastating. As anticholinesterases, these agents bind to the enzyme acetylcholinesterase, preventing it from breaking down the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. This leads to a massive buildup of the neurotransmitter, causing continuous stimulation of the nervous system. Symptoms can include convulsions, nausea, and paralysis. In high doses, the accumulation of fluids in the airways leads to death by asphyxiation. The potency is extreme; some variants are estimated to be up to ten times more potent than the agent soman.

While the Soviet Union announced an end to chemical weapons production in 1987, the program continued in secret. The existence of these agents became public through the whistleblowing of scientist Vil Sultanovich Mirzayanov in 1991. In the 21st century, Novichok gained global notoriety following high-profile poisonings, including the 2018 attack on Sergei Skripal in Salisbury, England, and the 2020 poisoning of Alexei Navalny. These incidents eventually led the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to add Novichok agents to its list of controlled substances in 2019.

General information, not professional advice. Spotted an error? Flag the card or see corrections and complaints.

Intellect Plus is a visual educational discovery platform for exploring fascinating facts and ideas. Brain Food, Not Brain Rot. What is Intellect Plus?

Related

• Nerve agents were born from a failed search for better, cheaper agricultural insecticides.
• Why modern chemical warfare relies on nerve agents that paralyze the human nervous system
• A lethal nerve agent left on a park bench triggered a global diplomatic crisis.
• The Soviet Union's first nuclear test shocked the world and ignited an arms race
• Zyklon B was a commercial pesticide before becoming a tool of industrial mass murder.
• Why farmers offer their harvest to the gods before they eat it
• How a response to racial violence became Europe's largest street festival
• Nuri Şahin: From Bundesliga prodigy to the high-pressure world of professional football management
• From Industrial Slums to Global Icon: The Turbulent Evolution of London's Notting Hill
• The Italian miracle spread born from a post-war cocoa shortage
• The forward pass wasn't invented by Notre Dame—it was perfected there.
• How a 1960s arena earned its reputation as the loudest building in the NBA

More in Festivals & celebrations · More in Cultures · Latest · A–Z · All topics