 It became known where Russia will conduct nuclear weapons tests. The mission to resume nuclear tests, should they be necessary, which has been set by Russian President Vladimir Putin, will be accomplished as the Novaya Zemliya will be accomplished as the Novaya Zemliya nuclear test site is being kept in ready condition for operation, a source close to the Russian Defence Ministry told TASK. The task set by the Russian President to prepare for nuclear tests will certainly be accomplished. The Novaya Zemliya nuclear test site has been kept in ready condition for the resumption of nuclear tests, if such a need arises. He said earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in his state of the national address to the Federal Assembly that the Defence Ministry and the Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation should get ready to carry out nuclear tests if necessary. Scientific Director of the All Russian Scientific Research Institute of Experimental Physics, Vyacheslav Solovyov, told that nuclear tests should be resumed at the Novaya Zemliya nuclear test site, if such a need arose and a political decision was made. A special programme is in effect to maintain the testing site's readiness, he explained. The Novaya Zemliya nuclear test site is maintained by the Russian Defence Ministry's 12th main department. A total of 130 tests were carried out there between September 21st, 1955 and October 24th, 1990, including 88 atmospheric 3 underwater and 39 underground tests. Novaya Zemliya archipelago in northwestern Russia, lying in the Arctic Ocean and separating the Barents and Karas seas. Novaya Zemliya was a sensitive military area during the Cold War and parts of it are still used for airfields today. The Soviet Air Force maintained a presence, Rogachivo, on the southern part of the southern island. Novaya Zemliya was one of the two major nuclear test sites managed by the USSR. It was used for airdrops and underground testing of the largest of Soviet nuclear bombs, in particular the October 30th, 1961 airburst explosion of Sa Bomba, the largest most powerful nuclear weapon ever detonated.