Soviet strategic thought, 1917-91 / Andrei A. Kokoshin.

"An earlier version of this work was originally published in Russian under the title Armiia i Politika, c1995 Mezhdunarodnye Otnosheniia"--T.p. verso.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Ch. 1. The Relationship between Policy and Strategy in Soviet Military Doctrine. Revolutionary Military Councils and Political Commissars. The Supremacy of Policy over Strategy. The Evolution of a "Unified Military Doctrine" The Concept of the "Integral Military Leader" The Purges of 1937-38 and the New Generation of Soviet Military Leaders. The "Genius of Stalin" and the Soviet Art of War. Politics and Military Leaders in the Khrushchev Era. Nuclear Weapons and the Relationship between Policy and Strategy. Policy and Strategy in the 1980s. Modification of Clausewitz's Formula in the Late 1980s -- Ch. 2. Threats to Soviet Security and the Probability of a Future War. Revolutionary Wars and National Wars. Maneuverability in a Future War. The Role of the Navy in a Future War. The Political-Military Situation in the Late 1920s and Early 1930s. The Theory of the Initial Phase of War. The Political-Military Situation in the Nazi Era. Approaches to the Great Patriotic War of 1941-45.

Threats to Soviet Security in the Late 1940s and Early 1950s. Political-Military Conditions in the Second Half of the 1950s. The Initial Phase of War and Fighting a Surprise Attack. Local and Limited Wars. The Political-Military Situation during the Era of Detente and Stagnation. The New Role of the Soviet Navy. Continuity and Revolution in the 1980s -- Ch. 3. Offense and Defense in Soviet Military Strategy. Debates on Offense and Defense in the 1920s. The General Conference for the Reduction and Limitation of Armaments, 1932-34. The Soviet Theory of "Deep Battle" or "Deep Operations" The Offense in Stalin's Naval Strategy. Pre-war Soviet Concepts of Initial Strategic Operations. Issues of Offense and Defense Immediately after the War. The Enhanced Role of Offensive Operations in the 1960s. Dialectics of Defense and Offense in the Nuclear Sphere. The Development of the "Deep Battle" Theory in the 1970s. Offense and Defense in Soviet Military Strategy in the Early 1980s.

"Defense Sufficiency" and the New Relationships between Offense and Defense -- Ch. 4. In Lieu of a Conclusion: Russia's National Security and Military Power. Present-Day Dimensions of the National Security Problem. Building National Egoism. The New Armed Forces for Russia. About the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.

During the Cold War, Westerners were obsessed with the military policies of the Soviet Union. Until the demise of the Soviet Union, however, few details of Moscow's thinking on military matters were available. In this book, Andrei Kokoshin reveals how Soviet military theorists developed and debated the concepts that provided the basis for the Kremlin's defense policies.

Drawing on Soviet-era archives and unpublished materials, he sheds light on this important chapter in the history of Russia and the world. Kokoshin places the strategic concepts behind Moscow's military policies in the context of internal and international struggles for power and assesses the future role of military power in Russia's national security strategy.