Inside Russia's Nuclear Saber-Rattling

When Russia wants to keep something secret, restrict access, or withhold information, it does so: Kremlin meetings are held behind closed doors when the state sees fit, their true content hidden behind bland statements that provide few clues to what was actually said, done, or decided. Putin’s administration sometimes even lies about the timing of meetings or whether they took place at all, releasing footage taken at a previous date and passing it off as current.

But when the Kremlin wants a meeting to be seen -- by Russians and by leaders,…