Story By: Anastasia Smirnova, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder,Agency: Central European News 

The inside of one of Russia’s nuclear briefcases capable of triggering global Armageddon has been shown for the first time ever on television.

The briefcase, which has a personalised key code, a flash card and is under 24/7 supervision, controls Russia’s nuclear arsenal.

The case is reportedly supervised by an officer who accompanies the Russian President wherever he goes.

The briefcase, called Cheget in Russian, was developed in the early 1980s and has now been shown to the public for the first time, with it being opened and its contents viewed up close on TV.

According to local media, although the case is often seen in the hands of an aide alongside Putin, there are actually not just one but three nuclear briefcases in total. Each is accessible by the three most highly-ranked officials in the Russian Federation.

Those Russian officials are currently President Vladimir Putin, 67, Defence Minister Sergey Shoygu, 64, and Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Valeriy Gerasimov, 64.

The most unusual aspect of the briefcase is that the launch button is actually white and not red as is commonly thought.

The case was presented on television in a detailed manner for the first time by Zvezda, a TV channel run by Russia’s Ministry of Defence.

Describing the inner workings of the nuclear briefcase, the TV presenter commented that it was the first time such a device was permitted to be opened on television.

TV presenter Alexei Yegorov explained: “One of the briefcase’s components is a flash card. It is individual, and it is one of the keys that is entered [into the system].”

He added that they were not allowed to disclose other sensitive information related to the nuclear briefcase’s functions.

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