The existence of the so-called
Novichok (Russian for Newcomer) chemical agent was originally
manufactured at the height of the Cold War in the 1970s and 80s and
disclosed as a chemical weapon by Russia in 1993. Russia joined the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction in 1997. Russia has since (unlike the U.S.) destroyed all left over stocks from the Soviet Union chemical weapon program. This was confirmed in a NYT article
of September last year. Putin himself made quite a public affair of the
destruction of its last remaining chemical weapons stockpile, who then
went on to accuse the USA of not doing the same as per the signed
international agreement. There is no evidence that Russia is still
producing chemical weapons.
