The main headline on RT is “Dmitry Suslov: It’s time for Russia to drop a nuclear bomb“.

The fact that it’s there and it’s the main article means that the Russian government is probing the public for reactions. Well, my opinion is that a demonstration, in a sense of a nuclear test, would be utterly pointless, because the point in contention isn’t whether the Russians have nuclear weapons or not, or whether nuclear weapons are dangerous or not, but whether Russia is willing to actually use nuclear weapons against their enemies in order to deter further encroachments on their sovereignty and integrity. They can’t just nuke the polygon in Novaya Zemlya or some similar wasteland, they need to hit several NATO bases – not just one – and they need to show that they are not afraid of the loss of life and possible escalation, because any such fears have been and will be used against them. They can no longer appeal to the opponent’s abstract reasoning skills, or a sense of logic. They need to inflict mortal fear, and appeal to naked and immediate terror.