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    Russia's National Defense Strategy issues

    George1
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    Post  George1 Wed Mar 18, 2015 7:46 am

    New Russian Military Doctrine Labels NATO as Main Threat

    MOSCOW – The Kremlin on Friday branded the expansion of NATO as a fundamental threat to Russia in a revised military doctrine that dramatically reflects deteriorating relations with the West.

    The new document, approved by Russian President Vladimir Putin, decries the "reinforcement of NATO's offensive capacities directly on Russia's borders, and measures taken to deploy a global anti-missile defense system" in Central Europe.

    NATO was already seen a major threat in an earlier version of the doctrine published in 2010, but the war in Ukraine has further raised tensions to levels not seen since the Cold War.

    The alarmed tone of the new version comes in the wake of repeated protests by Moscow over NATO's decision to position troops in alliance member states like Poland or the Baltic states that border Russia.

    The Kremlin has also opposed NATO's American-driven plan to base its anti-missile defense shield in Central Europe, which Moscow views as directed foremost against Russia.

    The doctrine's harsher tone also follows Wednesday's decision by Ukraine to abandon its non-aligned status — a symbolic move that provoked Moscow's anger by potentially clearing the way for Kiev to request NATO membership.

    Ukraine faces a huge task to bring its military up to NATO norms, and key members of the alliance, including France and Germany, remain skeptical about it joining the alliance.

    Despite its new anti-NATO edge, the Russian doctrine remains primarily defensive in nature, calling any military action by Russia justifiable only after all non-violent options to settle a conflict have been exhausted.

    In the same vein, it notes the "decreased likelihood of a large-scale war against Russia", although it does list a number of increasing threats to stability like territorial disputes, "interference in the internal affairs" of nations, and the use of strategic arms in space.

    Russia's new military doctrine also introduces the concept of "non-nuclear dissuasion" based on maintaining a high degree of preparedness of conventional military forces. It also urges active participation in regional security organizations like the Commonwealth of Independent States, made up of nine former Soviet Republics; and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation formed by Russia, China, and several ex-Soviet Caucasian republics.

    It reserves however the right to use the country's nuclear arsenal in the event of aggression against Russia or its allies, or in case of "threat to the very existence of the state."

    Among the principal duties listed in the doctrine for the country's armed forces during times of peace is the protection "of Russia's national interests in the Arctic," a strategic region in Russia's future energy development to which the United States and Canada also lay claim.
    George1
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    Post  George1 Wed Mar 18, 2015 7:47 am

    Russian Defense Ministry to clarify new edition of Russia's military doctrine

    MOSCOW, March 17. /TASS/. Russia’s Defense Ministry plans to organize a series of briefings at international forums to clarify the new edition of the Russian military doctrine, Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said on Tuesday.

    "We plan to hold such briefings at various international venues, including the United Nations anf the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)," he told journalists. "I will speak on the sidelines of a review conference for the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) due to be held in April-May 2015 in New York."

    "It is a very important work and we have a lot to do in this area," he added.
    henriksoder
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    Post  henriksoder Fri Apr 03, 2015 8:39 am

    Hello

    I want to discuss the russian army strength in contrast to other powers in the world. Is it true that the Russian Army got 766000 active soldiers across the frontlines? For a couple years ago or something they had one million or something? Have it decreased or what? I think the Russian Army should focus on reorganize themselves in a amount and effectively protect their borders in a strong way. How many reserve personal got Russian? I mean China must have at least two million soldiers with their active reserve personal. I think US army got max 400000 active soldiers or less, which country in the world is able to bring up the strongest force of active and reserve soldiers? I think China, but isent't China almost equality strong with Russia in military force, except that Russian got much more tanks, corvettes and more aircrafts? I am courious about knowing how much active soldiers US have.

    The navy of Russian, shoulden't they get carriars to stabilize military zones in the Ocean Pacific or maybe at eastern parts of the country ocean? Why dosesnt Russia got any carriars? They have easily the most corvettes in the world? Have they the strongest navy in the world? What can US do with their many carriars and not any corvettes I think, bomb Russian corvettes, like in Red Alert? How can US defend their carriars at sea amongst a Russian invasion for example?

    Is Russian Air Force the second strongest in the world? Russian Airborne Troops, Strategic Missile Troops, Russian Space Forces, how does them work, how strong are their and is it stronger units then for example the equal in the US army?

    /Henrik
    GarryB
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    Post  GarryB Sat Apr 04, 2015 9:11 am

    Would answer your questions with a question for you... how strong does the Russian military need to be?

    Does it need to be the most powerful on earth?

    Or does it need to be powerful enough to deter 90% of all countries on the planet, while at the same time able to destroy any or all other countries with its nuclear capability when it needs to to deter others from aggression against Russia?
    henriksoder
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    Post  henriksoder Sat Apr 04, 2015 9:56 am

    Russian army should be strong enough to maintain a safe world where human rights, human equal and human freedom, and human and economic progress is sustained and insured. Russian army should also be also obtain national security strongly enough. Russia must be able to defend their borders strongly, and obtain a powerful offensive to keep the world safe. Russia must also work for a proseper, fair and peaceful world.

    Russian soldiers should reorganize and work for a better amount soldiers, where equal training and equipment is insured with the growing military budget. Russia's military budget must grow to obtain the values as mentioned above. Russia's mark force is good and should maintain it's tank force and it's other overrepresentation of vechiles. The air force should also grow with the growing military budget to work more worldwide. Russia's navy should grow with the growing military budget to better control the Baltic Sea, Pacific Ocean and international water. Russia should get at least one more carriar in the next decade to better control the sea. Russia army should also work for neccesarily high-technology military equipment.

    I think the Russia Army should contintiue to be the strongest army in the world and work for Russian values and a better world.
    Werewolf
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    Post  Werewolf Sat Apr 04, 2015 3:05 pm

    It is not russias buisness to police the world, that is no one buisness to tell other countries what they have to do and what not, that is plain and simple terrorism. It would be far enough when those few known countries would stop paying NGO's and invest money to destabilize countries, so those countries can actually have a healthy and normal growth of economy and normal process of implementing order and law like they want and what fits their cultures, societies and mindsets the best and not getting occupied and killed and then oppressed to adopt some non function shitty system from abroad. That never worked and never will.

    Russia right now can repel every single nation on this planet from its own soil, with conventional and with nuclear weapons. It does not need capabilities to play world bully, it just needs long term military assets that protect russia from any treaty breaking measurements of the US, like stationing nukes in europea, installing ABM shields and destabilizing russias boardering countries and russia itself. Russia is already doing exactly that, slow pace some of those measurements but at least they do them.
    flamming_python
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    Post  flamming_python Sat Apr 04, 2015 3:22 pm

    henriksoder wrote:Russian army should be strong enough to maintain a safe world where human rights, human equal and human freedom, and human and economic progress is sustained and insured. Russian army should also be also obtain national security strongly enough. Russia must be able to defend their borders strongly, and obtain a powerful offensive to keep the world safe. Russia must also work for a proseper, fair and peaceful world.

    Russian soldiers should reorganize and work for a better amount soldiers, where equal training and equipment is insured with the growing military budget. Russia's military budget must grow to obtain the values as mentioned above. Russia's mark force is good and should maintain it's tank force and it's other overrepresentation of vechiles. The air force should also grow with the growing military budget to work more worldwide. Russia's navy should grow with the growing military budget to better control the Baltic Sea, Pacific Ocean and international water. Russia should get at least one more carriar in the next decade to better control the sea. Russia army should also work for neccesarily high-technology military equipment.

    I think the Russia Army should contintiue to be the strongest army in the world and work for Russian values and a better world.

    I don't want to make a better world; I mean it would be nice if we could contribute to it - but if we try to remake the world in our image then we'll end up as an ideologically bankrupt power like the US is now.

    Besides which we don't have a perfect country ourselves; it's really none of our business to impose our values onto other countries or to try and teach other people how to live.

    The Russian military should protect Russia and our close allies. That's it.
    henriksoder
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    Post  henriksoder Sat Apr 04, 2015 3:52 pm

    flamming_python wrote:I don't want to make a better world; I mean it would be nice if we could contribute to it - but if we try to remake the world in our image then we'll end up as an ideologically bankrupt power like the US is now.
    Better world should include a strong Russia which promote a prosper, developing and equal world. Russia must have the power to grow their economy, the oil production for example reached record levels and EU should work against Russia's aggressive agenda. Russia can with one more carriar control military zones in for example the Ocean Pacific and defend Russian values and interest. Russia's military must be strong in order to maintain world peace. I just mean that Russia's defense should adapt and develop to a more effective modern defense with high-technology equipment which can make it easy for Russia to spread it's military power.
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    Firebird


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    Russia's National Defense Strategy issues - Page 2 Empty Armata platform and the context of modern military tactical doctrine...

    Post  Firebird Thu May 07, 2015 11:47 am

    Most people think that the Armata is a terrific new platform. Obviously very good value.
    Certainly as good as foreign analogues. Probably better than them.

    Its interesting to note the foreign media spin on it all. America claims that the move is towards lighter, manouverable vehicles.
    And drones, airstrikes robotics etc etc.

    So I wonder where state of the art tanks will fit into the military doctrines of the next 10/20 yrs in different fighting environments.

    Obviously stage one would be drone reconaissance and long range missile strikes. Followed by shorter range missiles and air superiority.
    Next would come artillery shelling etc. At some pt of this there would be undercover airborne special force deployments.
    Later on, there MIGHT be Airborne troop deployment.

    But I wonder where Armata tank deployment might come in.
    The concern is that anti tank missiles might be used by single enemy ground troops who are hard to detect, and could potentially take out an expensive tank with several troops in.

    I can see how Armata is useful as a mobile radar station. And for shelling. But the tank itself might have a range of 7000 metres? Yet be vulnerable to a single enemy hidden in rubble, just 100m away. Obviously Chechnya 1 was a horror film for tanks.
    Doubtless Armata is vastly better than those tanks.

    My post isn't meant as a criticism of Armata battle tanks, far from it. As I believe it to be truly cutting edge.
    I'm just wondering where it fits in vs enemy troops, tanks, choppers etc.

    Obviously the answer would differ on who the enemy was. For instance Saudi, or Japan, or the Western Ukraine etc etc.
    GarryB
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    Post  GarryB Fri May 08, 2015 11:22 am

    Its interesting to note the foreign media spin on it all. America claims that the move is towards lighter, manouverable vehicles.
    And drones, airstrikes robotics etc etc.

    Well the Russians haven't gone for 100 ton land monitors... they have vehicles... and that is tanks and APCs and artillery etc etc vehicles with tank levels of armour for the crew if not the weapon system, but they also have three other vehicle families with different armour protection levels that are all amphibious... with wheels and tracks... so they have the heavy armoured vehicles but also the ligher manouverable vehicles and all of them have robots and drones and battle managements to call in airstrikes and artillery.

    Remember after failing to produce a new self propelled artillery piece the Russians are introducing new versions of the tube and rocket artillery vehicles with greatly extended range performance.

    But I wonder where Armata tank deployment might come in.
    The concern is that anti tank missiles might be used by single enemy ground troops who are hard to detect, and could potentially take out an expensive tank with several troops in.

    Very small groups of enemy are often the easiest to hunt down and kill... they will be unable to support each other and the hard kill and soft kill systems on these vehicles should make them some of the hardest vehicles for enemy to deal with. Of course wire a 1,000kg aviation bomb at the side of the road and most tanks will become mush... except these vehicles will have equipment to deal with radio command detonated weapons... so they might even survive that.

    there is no such thing as invincible, but these designs maximise the protection of the crew pretty much at the expense of all else... after all they can make another vehicle...

    Anything too dangerous even for people and you can start sending in armed drones...

    I can see how Armata is useful as a mobile radar station. And for shelling. But the tank itself might have a range of 7000 metres? Yet be vulnerable to a single enemy hidden in rubble, just 100m away. Obviously Chechnya 1 was a horror film for tanks.
    Doubtless Armata is vastly better than those tanks.

    And with lots of tiny drones flying all round the place perhaps those enemy soldiers wont be so safe...

    My post isn't meant as a criticism of Armata battle tanks, far from it. As I believe it to be truly cutting edge.
    I'm just wondering where it fits in vs enemy troops, tanks, choppers etc.

    It is OK to be critical... many people think the tank is dead because it is not invulnerable.

    One person once said if there is one weapon the enemy has that can penetrate this armoured vehicle you might as well send them in trucks.

    Of course making your troops vulnerable to any enemy weapon including pistols is naive.

    The better you can protect your troops the longer they will survive and the better they will be able to do their job. Having a powerful gun to support them makes them more effective but without protection the crew of that gun are vulnerable. Giving that crew heavy protection and a powerful gun and an engine to move around the battlefield means giving them a tank.

    Russia is giving its different forces four new tanks to choose from depending on their mission.
    kvs
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    Post  kvs Sat May 16, 2015 10:33 pm

    Are people planning for massive conventional war?

    If that is the case, then please purge from your minds that such a thing is possible these days without tactical and strategic
    nuclear weapons use. Then all those tank counts become rather meaningless.

    sepheronx
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    Post  sepheronx Sat May 16, 2015 10:35 pm

    kvs wrote:Are people planning for massive conventional war?

    If that is the case, then please purge from your minds that such a thing is possible these days without tactical and strategic
    nuclear weapons use.    Then all those tank counts become rather meaningless.


    The US is. And they are right at Russia's borders. It may be smart for Russia to increase the number and quality of their equipment. Not all will end up with tactical nukes. A game of attrition is also in plans, and Russia will lose if they do not have the number of equipment.

    Maybe they are holding out till Armata since they want 2000+ armata tanks (add the T-90 series on top of that).
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    Post  BTRfan Thu Jul 16, 2015 7:47 am

    Russia to me is a mysterious engima or an engimatic mystery... I have a very difficult time assessing if they are preparing to start a war, preparing to defend against a war NATO might start, building up for war or defense, unable to adequately build up...

    It is often difficult to tell if they are a paper tiger lacking the economy and logistics to support a mass build-up and mass mobilization, or if they are easily capable of sustaining major conventional operations.

    Culturally Russia is certainly unique, it is not some bad clone of the USA or the UK.

    Russia is at least as geographically diverse as the USA, it has many languages within its borders, numerous ethnic groups, a rich and unique history, but Russia remains a mystery.


    I have no idea if the Russians aim to spread their values by showcasing their culture and exporting their literature, music, etc, or if they want to spread their values at gunpoint, or if they even want to spread their values at all for that matter.
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    Post  BTRfan Thu Jul 16, 2015 7:49 am

    It might be odd to say this but it is possible that the West has a better understanding of North Korea [DPRK] than of the Russian Federation.
    max steel
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    Post  max steel Thu Jul 16, 2015 8:55 am

    BTRfan wrote:It might be odd to say this but it is possible that the West has a better understanding of North Korea [DPRK] than of the Russian Federation.

    Because west wants to invade N.K not Russia .
    GarryB
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    Post  GarryB Thu Jul 16, 2015 11:02 am

    I have no idea if the Russians aim to spread their values by showcasing their culture and exporting their literature, music, etc, or if they want to spread their values at gunpoint, or if they even want to spread their values at all for that matter.

    Why would they care about spreading values?

    Very simply they are preparing for war so they don't have to fight... that is what deterrence is all about... and MAD.

    It might be odd to say this but it is possible that the West has a better understanding of North Korea [DPRK] than of the Russian Federation.

    The west never tries to understand anyone... it just assimilates or destroys.
    George1
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    Post  George1 Wed Sep 30, 2015 9:23 am

    Federation Council will consider the use of the Russian Armed Forces abroad
    flamming_python
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    Post  flamming_python Thu Oct 01, 2015 9:52 pm

    George1 wrote:Federation Council will consider the use of the Russian Armed Forces abroad

    Rubber-stamp committee
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    Post  Godric Fri Oct 09, 2015 8:30 pm

    Military Operation in Syria may return Russia as a World Power

    http://sputniknews.com/russia/20151009/1028284477/military-operation-syria-russia-world-power.html


    would love to see China also join Russia in wiping out these wahabists vermin .... it would bring more stability into the world and end the notion that western interference and aggression can go unchecked ... this is the first step

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    Post  max steel Mon Nov 02, 2015 8:48 pm

    Russia tests command and control system in an exercise with multiple missile launches





    On 30 October 2015, Russia conducted a test of the command and control system that involved a number of strategic and non-strategic systems . As part of the exercise, K-117 Bryansk submarine of the Project 667BDRM/Delta IV-class launched a R-29RM missile from the Barents Sea. K-223 Podolsk submarine of the Project 667BDR/Delta III class launched a R-29R missile from the Sea of Okhotsk. The Strategic Rocket Forces conducted a launch of a Topol/SS-25 missile from Plesetsk, while the Tu-160 strategic bombers launched cruise missiles toward targets at the Pemboy and Kura test ranges. In addition, Velikiy Ustyug small missile ship launched a Kalibr cruise missile from the Kaspian Sea. The exercise also involved a launch of an Iskander cruise missile from Kapustin Yar.

    A similar exercise was conducted in May 2014. The only difference is that in 2014 it included a launch of a missile defense interceptor and there were no cruise missile launches. Iskander did take part, but it launched its ballistic missile. In 2013, the exercise was conducted also on October 30.

    For R-29R missile it was the first launch since May 2014. R-29RM missile was launched in November 2014, from Tula submarine. The previous Topol launch took place in August 2015, but it was a test of a new payload from Kapustin Yar. The last "regular" Topol launch from Plesetsk was last conducted in May 2014.
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    Post  max steel Wed Jan 27, 2016 11:20 pm

    How Powerful Is Russia’s Military?


    The Russian military suffered years of neglect after the Soviet collapse and no longer casts the shadow of a global superpower. However, the Russian armed forces are in the midst of a historic overhaul with significant consequences for Eurasian politics and security. Russian officials say the reforms are necessary to bring a Cold War-era military into the twenty-first century, but many Western analysts fear they will enable Moscow to pursue a more aggressive foreign policy, often relying on force to coerce its weaker neighbors. Some say Russian interventions in Georgia in 2008 and Ukraine in 2014—both former Soviet republics seeking closer ties to the West—demonstrate that President Vladimir Putin is prepared to use military force to reestablish Russian hegemony in its near abroad.

    What are Russian conventional military capabilities?


    Both in terms of troops and weapons, Russian conventional forces dwarf those of its Eastern European and Central Asian neighbors (see Table 1), many of which are relatively weak ex-Soviet republics closely allied with Moscow. Russia has a military pact with Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan through the Collective Security Treaty Organization, formed in 1992. Moscow also stations significant troops in the region: Armenia (3,200), Georgia’s breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia (7,000), Moldova’s separatist Transnistria region (1,500), Kyrgyzstan (500), and Tajikistan (5,000).

    Russia's National Defense Strategy issues - Page 2 CSTO_Chart

    As part of defense reforms, most Russian ground forces are to be professionalized and reorganized into formations of a few thousand troops for low- and medium-intensity conflicts. But for the foreseeable future many will remain one-year conscripts with limited training (military service is compulsory for Russian men aged eighteen to twenty-seven). The Airborne Assault Forces, which comprises about thirty-five thousand troops and whose commander answers directly to Putin, is Russia’s elite crisis-reaction force. A Special Operations Command, also a reserve of Putin, was created in 2013 to manage special operators outside Russian borders.

    Moscow is intent on remilitarizing its Arctic territory and is restoring Soviet-era airfields and ports to help protect important hydrocarbon resources and shipping lanes. (Russia has the world’s largest fleet of icebreakers, which are regularly required to navigate these waters.) In late 2013, Putin ordered the creation of a new strategic military command in the Russian Arctic.

    Russia's National Defense Strategy issues - Page 2 Russia-Military-Alliance-Map


    Meanwhile, rearmament has been slow, and much of the military’s equipment remains decades old. The once formidable Soviet navy is now little more than a coastal protection force, experts say. All of the navy’s large vessels, including its flagship and sole aircraft carrier, the non-nuclear Kuznetsov, are holdovers from the Cold War. (By comparison, the United States has ten nuclear carriers and builds several new warships each year.) Russian air power will also be limited, at least in the short term. Aircraft manufacturer Sukhoi is developing several new advanced warplanes, including a fifth-generation “stealth” fighter (the T-50), but production has been sluggish in some cases, and most of the current air force dates from the 1980s.

    Russia has made the modernization of its air and space defenses a top priority of the rearmament program, establishing a consolidated Aerospace Defense Command in 2011. The mainstay of this defense network is the S-400, a long- to medium-range surface-to-air missile system, to be deployed near Moscow and strategic positions along Russia’s perimeter. A more advanced S-500 is in development.

    What are Russian nuclear capabilities?

    Russia’s vast nuclear arsenal remains on par with the United States and is the country’s only residual great power feature, military experts say. Moscow has about 1,500 strategic warheads on deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), submarines, and heavy bombers. These numbers comply with the so-called New START treaty with the United States, which came into force February 2011. Russia is also believed to have some 2,000 nonstrategic (also referred to as tactical, theater, or battlefield) nuclear warheads.

    Russia leaned on its nuclear deterrent as its conventional force languished in the years after the Soviet collapse. NATO’s bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999 added to fears in the Kremlin that the U.S.-led alliance might impede Russia’s ability to act in the region. Moscow appeared to lower its nuclear threshold in 2000, permitting the use of such weapons in response to major conventional attacks. By comparison, Soviet doctrine reserved nuclear weapons for use only in retaliation for a nuclear attack.

    Much of the Russian nuclear deterrent is being modernized: a new class of ballistic missile submarine is coming into service; some strategic bombers are being upgraded; and there are plans to replace all Soviet-era ICBMs over the next decade or so.

    What is the Russian military budget?

    At close to $90 billion for 2013, the Russian military budget has more than doubled over the last decade (see Figure 2), trailing behind only China ($188 billion) and the United States ($640 billion), according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute(SIPRI). (Data includes funding for armed services, paramilitary forces, military space activities, foreign military aid, and military R&D.)

    Defense spending has benefited from a surge in global energy prices over the last decade, as oil and gas account for more than half of Russia’s federal budget revenues, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. In 2014, Russia is about half way through a ten-year $700 billion weapons modernization program, with priorities given to strategic nuclear weapons, fighter aircraft, ships and submarines, air defenses, communications and intelligence.

    But analysts say recent spending should be taken in context. First, defense outlays plunged dramatically during the 1990s and remain well below Soviet levels. Second, Russia still spends a fraction of what the United States and many of its allies spend per soldier. Third, high inflation rates in the defense industry as well as endemic corruption consume a large portion of newly allocated resources. And, lastly, Russian defense spending is closely tied to global energy prices, which can fluctuate dramatically. Many analysts link the two-thirds drop in oil prices in the mid-1980s to the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

    Russia's National Defense Strategy issues - Page 2 Military_Expenditure_Graph_


    What prompted the reforms?

    The five-day conflict with Georgia in August 2008 exposed major deficiencies—in command-and-control systems, hardware, weaponry, and intelligence—and confirmed that Russia’s mass-mobilization military, where millions of conscripts could marshal to protect the motherland, remained outdated.

    “The Georgian war was arguably the last war of the twentieth century for Russia’s armed forces; in the sense that it was largely fought using organizations, tactics, and equipment designed in the last century,” wrote Roger N. McDermott, a Eurasian military expert at the Jamestown Foundation, in 2009.

    In the weeks after the conflict, Defense Minister Anatoliy Serdyukov, a powerful reformer appointed by Putin, recommitted the military to a lengthy overhaul involving massive personnel cuts (from 1.2 million to 1 million), rearmament, and reorganization into a professional force capable of responding quickly to acute crises.

    Experts assessing the status of reform in late 2013 say it has lacked strategic direction and suffered from major planning failures, and they forecast a number of challenges related to personnel, funding, and procurement in years ahead. However, they conclude the overhaul has made tremendous strides. “It is undoubtedly the case that post-[military] transformation Russia will have a very different force available from the one that went into action in Georgia in 2008, and one that is more effective, flexible, adaptable, and scalable for achieving Russia’s foreign policy aims,” wrote coauthors of a Strategic Studies Institute report.

    What does Russia consider threats?

    Russian leaders acknowledge that there is now little threat of a large-scale NATO land invasion— a top concern of the Cold War—but they repeatedly criticize the bloc’s eastward expansion, including its plans to roll out a ballistic missile defense shield across Europe. The United States, which developed the technology, says the system is only designed to guard against limited missile attacks from “rogue” states like Iran, but Moscow believes the technology could be updated and may tip the strategic nuclear balance. Putin and his military leaders have also frequently expressed concern with conventional precision strike weapons being developed by rivals.


    Russia's National Defense Strategy issues - Page 2 NATO_Map_FINAL


    Moscow believes the so-called color revolutions—a series of popular uprisings in former Soviet satellites—were concerted attempts by the United States and its allies to erode Russian influence in the region. “Russian foreign policy appears to be based on a combination of fears of popular protest and opposition to U.S. world hegemony, both of which are seen as threatening the Putin regime,” writes Dmitry Gorenburg, an expert on the Russian military at CNA, a Virginia-based research institution.

    But many western and Russian analysts say Moscow’s concerns with NATO are often overstated and divert attention from more practical threats like those looming on Russia’s southern periphery, including ethnic insurgencies in the North Caucasus region, weapons proliferation, and a potential resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan.

    What are Russia’s strategic objectives in the region?

    Military modernization will enable the world’s largest country by far (and one of the most sparsely populated) to better defend its vast territory and national interests. But the conflicts in Ukraine and Georgia have aroused concerns about Russian aggression, namely Putin’s willingness to use military force unilaterally to preserve Russia’s traditional sphere of influence.

    Shortly before annexing Crimea in March 2014, Putin said he would defend the rights of Russians abroad, and in April he referred to a large swath of Ukrainian territory as Novorossiya (New Russia), a term used during imperial Russia. According to NATO and Ukrainian officials, Moscow has provided ethnic Russian insurgencies in Eastern Ukraine with training, personnel, and heavy weapons, including battle tanks and antiaircraft missiles. In November, Russia acknowledged rebel elections in the breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, a move that echoed Russia’s unilateral recognition of separatist governments in Abkhazia and South Ossetia after its conflict with Georgia in 2008.

    But Russia’s assertiveness has come with a cost. The Group of Eight (now G7) cut Moscow out of its elite club in March, and top Russian officials, banks, and businesses face an array of Western sanctions that may push the economy into recession. The Russian military will also suffer: France has delayed delivery of the first of two Mistral-class amphibious warships, and Russia’s extensive defense-industrial cooperation with Ukraine is in jeopardy.

    Experts say that there may also be domestic political consequences down the road. “[Putin]’s brand of ethnic geopolitics, redolent of the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth, is a double-edged sword,” wrote Strobe Talbott, president of the Brookings Institution, in August 2014. “It could shrink Russian territory, since vast parts of that country are populated by non-Russian ethnic groups who are unlikely to welcome or, over the long run, tolerate a Russian chauvinist in the Kremlin.”

    What is U.S. and NATO strategy toward Russia?

    Alliance leaders are reassessing defenses in Europe, particularly in the East. Since the annexation of Crimea, NATO has quadrupled (to sixteen) the number of warplanes policing the Baltics, which have witnessed a major surge in provocations involving Russian planes. NATO also announced plans for a new rapid reaction force—the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF)—of about five thousand troops. Officials say the VJTF should be fully operational in early 2016 and will serve as an elite subset of the NATO Response Force composed of thirteen thousand troops.

    Some analysts recommend the alliance adopt a strategy of containment not unlike that of the Cold War. “Give up any hope of a return to business as usual; Boost the defense of Baltic states and Poland; Expose Russian corruption in the West; Impose sweeping visa sanctions on the Russian elite; Help Ukraine; and Reboot the Atlantic Alliance,” writes British journalist and Russia expert Edward Lucas.

    CFR’s Janine Davidson, an expert on military and defense strategy, says that NATO members need to prepare for the type of guerilla tactics Russia has used in eastern Ukraine. “NATO must consider what happens if and when these well-armed, unmarked, [Special Operations Forces]-like, suspiciously disciplined masked men turn up in a NATO nation, such as Estonia or Latvia (respectively 24 and 27 percent ethnic Russian) and commence another creeping invasion,” she writes.

    At the same time, CNA’s Gorenburg says Baltic governments should be wary of Russian subversion. “There is a danger that in focusing too much on strengthening military defenses, the Baltic states and NATO will neglect the non-military tools in Russia’s toolkit, including promoting and funding Euroskeptic political movements, encouraging radical groups to commit violent acts to create an environment of disorder, and using information warfare techniques to strengthen anti-government and anti-EU attitudes among minority populations,” he told CFR.
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    Post  George1 Fri Jan 29, 2016 1:50 am

    Νice article. From the map i understand how much has strengthened Russia's position in Black Seas after the 2008 S.Ossetia war and the unification of Crimea to Russia
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    Post  George1 Thu Feb 18, 2016 4:57 am

    Russia has the world’s second most powerful military, according to the annual ranking made by Global Firepower, an analytical website exploring the military power of different countries.

    http://rbth.com/defence/2016/02/17/russia-ranked-worlds-2nd-military-power-after-us_568639
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    Post  George1 Fri May 13, 2016 3:01 pm

    Over 400 Russian servicemen take part in Transdniestria drills

    More:
    http://tass.ru/en/defense/875258
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    Post  George1 Thu Jun 09, 2016 11:37 am

    Russia Cannot Ignore Threats From Syria, Libya, Iraq - MoD

    Read more: http://sputniknews.com/military/20160609/1041042673/threats-terrorism-shoigu-mod.html#ixzz4B4cACuMz

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