Research for Strategy

Soviet military writings are a valuable source of insight into true Soviet beliefs regarding military capabilities and intentions--their own and those of their adversaries. This research contribution lists all the articles published in the Soviet journal, Morskoy sbornik (Naval Digest) from 1980 to 1985. Volume I lists the articles in chronological order, and alphabetical order by author. See Also CRC 568.

A plausible Soviet approach to the problem of securing control of the Arctic Ocean Theater of Military Operations (TVD) during a war fought entirely with conventional weapons is laid out in this research memorandum. The focus is primarily on the strategic aspects of the problem. Those aspects of the Soviet solution which may appear unorthodox, but which effectively compensate for some of the Soviet Navy's main weaknesses are highlighted.

The role of the Pacific theater in a NATO-Warsaw Pact War is considered. The paper argues that the Pacific theater has been neglected in such a conflict because most war scenarios envision a struggle lasting no more than 30 to 60 days. As a result, the conflict is over too quickly in most scenarios for the interrelationships between the NATO and Pacific theaters to develop conceptually. However, in a long-war scenario, the Pacific theater's importance in the course and outcome of such a conflict becomes apparent. The military, industrial, and technological potential of the Pacific nations, especially China and Japan, combined with the U.S., constitute a reserve of strength capable of containing or reversing any Soviet success in a conventional conflict in Europe. This paper concludes that (a) current strategy or doctrine based on the refusal to repudiate the 'first use' of nuclear weapons has lost much of its credibility as a deterrent, and (b) the tacit or explicit adoption of a long-war strategy to counter Soviet capabilities in a short war should be considered.

This paper provides discussion on two points: 1) that the character of Soviet naval operations has changed significantly over the last few years, and these changes reflect a modification of the Navy's mission structure, and 2) that the West should be more aware of this change and its implications than we are at the present.