The Russian military in the year 2000

Abstract

Through the use of content analysis, this paper attempts to paint a picture of the Russian military in the year 2000 and its impact on the US national security strategy . The research begins by defining the origin of Russian national security policy and how that translates into military policy and doctrine. A framework for evaluating Russian military doctrines is provided with a chronology of the military reform process and the related doctrinal reforms that has its birth in the 1987 announcement of a "defensive-defense." Following from the doctrinal variant framework the new strategic missions of the 1992 draft military doctrine are presented with an analysis that shows they are a clear departure from the past and truly a "defensive-defense" type doctrine. Additionally, a comparison is made between the current military reform ongoing in Russia and the historical precedent of the Russian military reform of 1924-25. A rough outline of the separate branches of the Russian military both present and future is provided based on the ongoing trends in the reform process. This thumbnail sketch of the Russian military then assists in the analysis and conclusion that even after a possible 50% cutback in US military spending, in the year 2000 the conventional Russian military will not pose a threat to US national security. The major caveat to this conclusion is in the realm o nuclear weapons and this issue is therefore discussed in some length.