The Ideological Crisis in the Russian Military
Abstract
This report addresses the issue of Russian nationalism in the Russian military and examines the ideological choices available to the military institution in the aftermath of the Soviet breakup. It follows the Soviet military's unsuccessful quest for new ideological reference points from the Gorbachev era to the present. The report concludes that, in the atmosphere of escalating political, ideological, and economic uncertainty in Russia, the military's cohesion is likely to have been severely undermined, thereby denying the country's political leadership an important source of support. This study draws on extensive interviews conducted by the author in Moscow with Russian military personnel, government officials, and academic security specialists in the course of several research trips in 1990, 1991, and 1992. This research report was prepared as part of a larger RAND study on nationalism in the former Soviet Union, sponsored by the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy within the International Security and Defense Strategy Program of RAND's National Defense Research Institute, a federally funded research and development center sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Staff. The report should be of interest to U.S. Government officials and policy analysts concerned with developments in the former Soviet Union and Russia.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1994
- Accession Number
- ADA596069
Entities
People
- Eugene B. Rumer
Organizations
- RAND Corporation