Summary:
- The "Dead Hand" was a secret Soviet nuclear weapons system designed to automatically launch a massive retaliatory strike if the Soviet Union was ever attacked.
- The system was meant to ensure that even if the Soviet leadership was wiped out in a nuclear war, the country's nuclear weapons would still be launched, ensuring mutually assured destruction.
- The Dead Hand system was a chilling example of the lengths the Soviet Union went to in order to deter a nuclear attack, and it highlights the terrifying realities of the Cold War nuclear arms race.