Russian Military Strategy: Core Tenets and Operational Concepts
August 2021 Russian Military Strategy: Core Tenets and Operational Concepts Michael Kofman, Anya Fink, Dmitry Gorenburg, Mary Chesnut, Jeffrey Edmonds, and Julian Waller With contributions by Kasey Stricklin and Samuel Bendett DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A. Approved for public release: distribution unlimited. DRM-2021-U-029755-Final Abstract This paper explores the core tenets of Russian military strategy and associated operational concepts, situating its role within the Russian system of knowledge on military security. Russian military leaders describe the prevailing strategy as ‘active defense,’ a strategic concept integrating preemptive measures to anticipate and prevent conflict, wartime concepts of operations that seek to deny an opponent decisive victory in the initial period of war, degrading and disorganizing their effort, while setting the conditions to attain war termination on acceptable terms. The strategy emphasizes integration of defensive and offensive operations, maneuver defense, sustained counterattack, disorganization of an opponent’s command and control, engagement of their forces throughout the theater of military action, including infrastructure in their homeland. Its theory of victory is premised on degrading the military-economic potential of opponents, focusing on critically important objects, to affect the ability and will of an adversary to sustain a fight, as opposed to ground offensives to seize territory or key terrain. The study also explores the content of Russian strategic operations, associated missions and tasks, the echelonment of Russian military concepts, together with Russian outlooks on the theory and practice of modern warfare. This document contains the best opinion of CNA at the time of issue. It does not necessarily represent the opinion of the sponsor Distribution DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A.
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