The State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology VECTOR, also known as the Vector Institute, is a biological research center in Koltsovo, Novosibirsk Oblast, Russia. It is roughly analogous to both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the US Army Chemical and Biological Defense Command. It has research facilities and capabilities for all levels of Biological Hazard, CDC Levels 1-4. It is one of two official repositories for the now-eradicated smallpox virus, and is part of the system of laboratories known as the Biopreparat.
Recently the facility has been upgraded and secured using modern cameras, motion sensors, fences, and biohazard containment systems. Its relative seclusion makes security an easier task. Since its inception there has been an army regiment guarding the facility.
The facility has, at least in Soviet times, been a nexus for biological warfare research (see Soviet biological weapons program), though the nature of any ongoing research in this area is uncertain.