Translated material
Image of the enemy
Russia and the United States unveil their defense strategies
“The Concept for the Construction of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation until 2030” - a new document under this name has appeared in the Russian Ministry of Defense. The then President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin spoke about its development in February of this year, when at a meeting of the State Council the concept of the country's development until 2020 was considered. “To strengthen national security, a new strategy for building the Armed Forces until 2020 is needed,” he said then, noting that it is necessary to create new types of weapons using advanced technologies, raise the prestige of military service and increase the salaries of military personnel.And now the draft document is ready. It is quite possible that the concept will play the role of military doctrine. The latter, as is known, was adopted in 2002. Apart from Russia and some CIS countries, there is no document with this name in any state. Perhaps Russia has decided to limit itself to the concept or strategy for the development of the Armed Forces. The new document can also be called a continuation or update of the “Current tasks for the development of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation”, developed in 2003 and widely submitted then. “Current Problems...” was published as a separate book with many color illustrations and is still posted on the Ministry of Defense website.
The new concept states that Russia until 2030 will remain the object of various external threats of a global, regional, including military nature. Potential threats to Russia's military security are also mentioned. This is the presence of strategic nuclear forces in a number of countries, the conduct of military operations in circumvention of the principles of international law, and the ousting of Russia from the structures for ensuring global and regional security.
Added to this list of threats is the violation of agreements in the field of arms control, the expansion of the military presence of NATO allies in regions adjacent to Russia, “the growing technological and military-technical superiority of leading foreign countries over Russia, which makes it possible to rapidly develop means of armed struggle of the next generations and equip the armed forces with them en masse."
The authors of the concept also did not ignore the “deployment of elements of the US strategic missile defense system in Europe and the Far East,” which could lead to a disruption of the existing balance of strategic forces. Potential threats include the launch of weapons into space and the erosion of the non-proliferation regime for weapons of mass destruction, in particular nuclear weapons, materials and technologies for their creation.
There is no direct talk about a probable or potential enemy, but the Russian military believes that the United States will remain the only superpower for the coming decades, the American military presence will remain in all key regions and will have a “significant impact on the development of the military-political situation as a whole.” This position is not very consistent with the recently published “Foreign Policy Concept”, where Russia is called one of the poles of world politics.
The United States will view its military superiority, as stated in the “Concept for the Construction of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation until 2030,” as “the most important condition for the successful implementation of its foreign policy plans.” The draft literally says the following: in the next 20-25 years, there will remain a contradiction between the desire of the United States and other NATO countries for a preventive response to threats to their security and the existing principles and norms of international law.
The authors of the concept believe that in order to ensure the legitimacy of its unilateral actions, the West will try to achieve recognition of the North Atlantic Alliance as the only organization that has the right “to use force based on the decisions of its own governing bodies.” Washington and its NATO allies will use military force “bypassing generally accepted norms of international law and weakening the role of international institutions in resolving interstate conflicts and contradictions,” the authors of the Russian military concept believe.
It must be said that the Americans are not in debt - last week the Pentagon unveiled a new national defense strategy. The United States is alarmed by the “programs carried out by Russia and China to modernize their armed forces.” Secretary of Defense Robert Gates stated this. According to US military strategists, Moscow will increasingly rely on nuclear weapons as the basis for its security. The United States itself has chosen “the fight against al-Qaeda and other terrorists” as its main military priority in the coming decades.
Russia plans to pay special attention to information and space technologies, nanotechnologies. There are plans to develop all three components of strategic nuclear forces: ground, sea and air. It is the Strategic Missile Forces that will remain the basis of the Russian Armed Forces for the next 20 years. Until 2030, the Strategic Missile Forces will continue to deploy new stationary and mobile-based missile systems and improve combat control and communications equipment. According to the concept, it is planned to create an aerospace defense system that should fend off threats in the aerospace sphere.
The draft concept retains conscription for compulsory military service until at least 2030. It is proposed to conscript citizens aged 18 to 27 years for a period of 12 months. In parallel with conscripts, the Armed Forces will be staffed with contract soldiers. It is curious that the document does not specify specific dates for the withdrawal of the Black Sea Fleet from the base in Sevastopol; it only speaks of “completion of the Black Sea Fleet basing system on the territory of the Russian Federation,” that is, in Novorossiysk.
It is not difficult to notice that in the Russian Armed Forces there is a clear tendency towards conceptuality. Most recently, the “Strategy for Social Development of the Armed Forces for the Period until 2020” and the “Concept for Improving Physical Fitness until 2016” were adopted. However, the new document, according to opposition politicians, does not contain obvious innovations. The authors really failed to completely avoid the principle: “Generals prepare for past wars.” While the new concept is only being discussed among interested structures, it will be submitted to the president for approval in the fall.