The Diversity of Russia’s Military Power
Five Perspectives
September 25, 2020
More than a decade ago, the Russian government began to modernize its military forces and recalibrate its strategic doctrines following its invasion and occupation of Georgia in 2008. By 2014, the United States and Europe witnessed first-hand the tactical and strategic effects of this modernization both near Russia’s borders as well as farther afield. Moscow’s growing military and economic cooperation with China has also further heightened the geostrategic stakes for U.S. national security. While Western governments have revitalized their analytical attention concerning Russia’s military strength and hybrid tactics, analysts tend to isolate one dimension of Russia’s tactics and draw quick conclusions about a broader range of Russian actions and behaviors.
It is with this in mind that CSIS brought together analysts, security specialists, academics, and government officials to embark on a five-day professional development program to explore all elements of Russian military power and place it in a broader context. Following this intensive course, participants were tasked with developing short, independent research papers, and CSIS selected five of these papers for publication in this dedicated compendium. Taken together, these papers expand our understanding of the many dimensions of Russian military power and its overarching strategies while developing and growing a diverse community of Russian military and security experts.
You can find papers by other participants here.
This publication was funded by the Russia Strategic Initiative, U.S. European Command in Stuttgart, Germany. The opinions, conclusions, or recommendations contained herein are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies or endorsements, either expressed or implied, of the U.S. government.
