If ever there was a country for which the catchphrase "nuclear renaissance" truly applied, it would be Russia. In the Soviet Union, nuclear energy served as a symbol of technological progress and scientific achievement in the country's rivalry with the West. However, the march of Soviet nuclear progress was brought to a halt by the nuclear accident involving a Soviet-designed reactor at Chernobyl in 1986. After languishing for two decades, the nuclear industry in Russia has recently been greeted with renewed funding and enthusiasm. This paper explores the goals and challenges of the Russian nuclear power industry, discussing its status and prospects.