Russia's Y2K Clock Ticking

Most experts say a Russian nuclear missile disaster is not at all likely when the clock strikes midnight on December 31, 1999, but the millennium bug could cause widespread problems for the former superpower's aging electronic infrastructure.

If the computers crash, Moscow could be blinded, reports CBS News Correspondent David Hawkins. Russians won't be able to tell the difference between incoming ICBMs and a flock of geese.

It will be a moment of vulnerability and tense uncertainty. But could the millennium bug trigger an accidental missile launch?

A Pentagon official who visited Moscow recently says such a disaster is almost impossible.

But just to make sure, on New Year's Eve, the Russian and U.S. military plan to post observers in each other's strategic command centers in order to prevent any deadly misunderstandings.

Nuclear missiles aren't the only problem.

Like everywhere else, no one knows exactly what will happen to Russian air traffic control. Water and electricity systems could fail. In the dead of winter, power plants might malfunction - including nuclear power plants.

But no matter how dire the consequences, Russia can't afford a nationwide computer upgrade. The Russian government says it will cost $2 billion to $3 billion to fix the Y2K problem.

That's $2 billion to $3 billion they don't have. Meanwhile, another thing the Russians are running short of is time.

Reported by David Hawkins
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