Conventional military force and Soviet foreign policy.
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Authors
McConnell, Robert B.
Subjects
conventional military force
Soviet foreign policy
Soviet military intervention
Hungary, 1956
Czechoslovakia, 1968
Angola, 1974-75
Soviet foreign policy
Soviet military intervention
Hungary, 1956
Czechoslovakia, 1968
Angola, 1974-75
Advisors
Valenta, Jiri
Date of Issue
1978-06
Date
June 1978
Publisher
Monterey, California: U.S. Naval Postgraduate School
Language
en_US
Abstract
The Soviet Union has, historically, always maintained a
large standing army, primarily for defensive purposes. However,
after World War II and with the advent of nuclear weapons, the
Soviet Armed Forces have undergone tremendous change. This
paper traces the changes in Soviet attitudes towards conventional
military force since World War II and attempts to illustrate
the role of conventional force in Soviet foreign policy.
Postwar Soviet military development is traced through four
distinct phases: 1945-1953 was a period in which the Soviet
military was generally a continental land army; 1954-1959 saw
the introduction of nuclear weapons but little or no change in
strategy and doctrine; the period 1960-1967 saw the birth of
the Strategic Rocket Forces and primary emphasis on nuclear
warfare; and since 1968 the Soviets have been developing both
a strong nuclear capability as well as a modern conventional
force capable of global deployment. In addition to historical
surveys of the phases in military development, detailed analyses
are presented of the Soviet military interventions in Hungary
(1956) and Czechoslovakia (1968) as well as Soviet military
support of the MPLA in Angola (1974-1975).
Type
Thesis
Description
Series/Report No
Department
National Security Affairs (NSA)
Organization
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funder
Format
Citation
Distribution Statement
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.