Russia's Military Might
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STUDIER I GLOBAL POLITIK OG SIKKERHED (RED.) OG JØRGEN STAUN NIELS BO POULSEN ”Rusland har kun to faste allierede – dets hær og dets flåde”. Dette citat fra tsartiden er stadigt aktuelt og udtrykker, hvor højt Rusland prioriterer at være en militær stormagt. Nu- tidens Rusland er en af de industrinationer, som bruger flest penge på sit forsvar, og siden 2008 er landets militær blevet moderniseret i raskt tempo. Samtidig er spændingsniveaet Rusland som militær stormagt mellem Rusland og dets vestlige naboer steget markant. Det skyldes i høj grad Ruslands anvendelse af militær magt i udlandet: i Ukraine fra 2014 og Syrien fra 2015. Det giver anledning til mange myter og spekulationer både blandt politikere og i den of- fentlige debat. Men hvor stærkt er det russiske forsvar egentligt, og hvilken trussel udgør det mod Danmark? Hvilken tænkning og kultur præger soldater og officerer, og hvordan er forsvaret i hele taget opbygget, udstyret og uddannet? Rusland som militær stormagt giver svar på disse spørgsmål i form af en omfattende gennemgang af Ruslands væbnede styrker og deres forankring i det russiske samfund og politiske system. Bogen er skrevet af en række danske forskere med speciale i Rusland eller militære anliggender, og den giver læserne en unik baggrund for at forholde sig til Danmarks nabo - den militære stormagt Rusland. Niels Bo Poulsen (f. 1968), ph.d., er chef for Institut for Militærhistorie, Kulturforståelse og Krigsteori, Forsvarsakademiet. Han er en af Danmarks ledende militærhistorikere og Ruslandskendere. Hans publikationer omfatter en række bøger og artikler om Første og Anden Verdenskrig, krigsveteraner og Sovjetunionen/Rusland. Fra 1996 til 2008 var han medarbejder i Udenrigsministeriet. Russia’s Military Might Jørgen Staun (f. 1966), ph.d., er lektor i international politik ved Institut for Strategi, For- svarsakademiet. Han forsker primært i russisk udenrigs- og sikkerhedspolitik. Han har tidligere arbejdet som projektforsker på Dansk Institut for Internationale Studier (DIIS) og – A Portrait of its Armed Forces Ruslandskorrespondent for Berlingske Tidende med base i Moskva og Prag. Hans seneste publikationer handler primært om russisk strategisk kultur og Ruslands politik i Arktis. Niels Bo Poulsen and Jørgen Staun (eds.) DJØF PUBLISHING ISBN 978-87-574-4888-7 4888_Rusland_som_militær_stormagt_FA_181120.indd 1 23/11/2020 13.06 Russia’s Military Might – A Portrait of its Armed Forces Niels Bo Poulsen & Jørgen Staun (eds.) Russia’s Military Might – A Portrait of its Armed Forces Djøf Publishing 2021 Niels Bo Poulsen & Jørgen Staun (eds.) Russia’s Military Might. A Portrait of its Armed Forces 1st Edition © 2021 by Djøf Publishing All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise – without the prior written permission of the Publisher. This publication is peer reviewed according to the standards set by the Danish Ministry of Higher Education and Science. Cover: Marianne Tingkov eISBN 978-87-7198-545-0-uk Djøf Publishing Djøf Forlag Gothersgade 137 1123 København K Telefon: 39 13 55 00 e-mail: [email protected] www.djoef-forlag.dk Index Index Index Part I: What Does Russia Want? Chapter 1. Introduction ............................................................................... 15 By Niels Bo Poulsen and Jørgen Staun The Russian Armed Forces – An Integral Part of Society ....................... 18 Denmark and the Russian Armed Forces .................................................. 23 Objective and Content of the Book ............................................................. 25 Acknowledgements ....................................................................................... 29 References ........................................................................................................ 30 Chapter 2. Studying Russian Security Policy and Defence ................. 33 By Niels Bo Poulsen and Jørgen Staun Introduction .................................................................................................... 33 Area Studies – from Sovietology to Russia Studies ................................. 35 IR Theory and Russia .................................................................................... 42 Military Theory ............................................................................................... 48 Pitfalls and Challenges – Concluding Practical-Methodological Reflections .................................................................................................. 56 Literature Review ........................................................................................... 58 References ........................................................................................................ 60 Chapter 3. At War with the West – Russian Military-Strategic Culture ............................................................................................................. 65 By Jørgen Staun Introduction .................................................................................................... 65 Strategic Culture Theory ............................................................................... 66 Literature Review ........................................................................................... 70 Russian Military-Strategic Culture. Who Holds the Power of Definition, and Who Are the Carriers of Culture? ................................ 72 Russia’s Role in the World: Being a Great power..................................... 74 5 Index Perceptions of the Nature of War ................................................................ 78 The Nature of War and Technology ........................................................... 81 The Nature of War and Colour Revolutions ............................................. 82 The Nature of War and Hybrid Means ...................................................... 84 Who or What Is Threatening Russia? And How Should the Russian Armed Forces Respond to These Threats? ........................................... 88 Dangers Associated with NATO and Its Expansion ............................... 88 Dangers Associated with the US’ and NATO’s Nuclear Arsenals ........ 90 Dangers Associated with the Technological Superiority of the US and NATO .................................................................................................. 92 Dangers Associated with Colour Revolutions Initiated by the West ... 94 Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 96 Russia Considers Itself a Great Power ....................................................... 96 Blitzkrieg: The Initial Phase in War Is the Most Important, and It Has Become Even More Important ....................................................... 97 Focus, Initiative and Asymmetry ................................................................ 98 War in All Domains ....................................................................................... 99 Perpetual War: Unclear Boundaries between War and Peace ............... 100 References ........................................................................................................ 101 Chapter 4. Russian Military Culture – the Achilles Heel of the Reform Process?............................................................................................. 109 By Michael Gjerstad and Niels Bo Poulsen Introduction .................................................................................................... 109 Military Culture as a Concept and Analytical Device ............................. 110 Data and Methodological Reflections......................................................... 113 Russian Society and the Military ................................................................. 115 Who Serves in the Armed Forces? .............................................................. 117 The Historical Context – Soviet Roots and the Late 20th Century ......... 120 The Human Factor in Russian Military Thinking .................................... 123 Abusive Treatment, Bullying and Accidents ............................................ 129 Differences between the Services and Military Subcultures .................. 131 Military Culture Meets the Battlefield – Learning and Changes Since 2014 ................................................................................................... 133 Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 135 References ........................................................................................................ 137 6 Index Chapter 5. Militarism and Patriotism in Russia – the Culture behind Russian Combat Power ................................................................. 145 By Flemming Splidsboel Hansen Method ............................................................................................................. 148 Sources ............................................................................................................. 150 Patriotism as a Goal ....................................................................................... 151 The Substance of Russian Patriotism .......................................................... 153 Tools ................................................................................................................