Introduction

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Notes

1 See, for example, Keir Giles, Handbook of Russian Information Warfare, Fellowship Monograph No. 9 (Italy: NATO Defence College, November 2016).

2 According to Russia's 2015 National Security Strategy, its ability to stand out as ‘one of the world's leading powers’ in the international arena is a key strategic priority. ‘Strategiya natsionalnoy bezopasnosti Rossiyskoy Federatsii [National Security Strategy of the Russian Federation]’, approved by the Presidential Decree of the Russian Federation No. 683 of 31 December 2015, Articles 6 and 30, <http://www.kremlin.ru/acts/news/51129>, accessed 17 October 2016.

3 Nezavisimaya Gazeta, [Independent Gazette]. ‘Myunkhenskaya rech [Munich Speech]’, 28 December 2007, <http://www.ng.ru/politics/2007-12-28/1_munhen.html>, accessed 17 October 2016.

4 Vladimir Putin, ‘Vystuplenie i discussiya na Myunkhenskoy konferentsii po voprosam politiki bezopasnosti [Presentation and Discussion at the Munich Conference on Security Policy]’, 10 February 2007, <http://kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/24034>, accessed 17 October 2016.

5 Yuri Gavrilov, ‘Generalskoe sokraschenie [Generals Reduction]’, Rossiyskaya Gazeta [Russian Gazette], 15 October 2008, <https://rg.ru/2008/10/15/vooruzh-sily.html>, accessed 15 October 2016.

6 Newsru, ‘Voyna pokazala: rossiyskaya armiya vetshaet, zapas sovetskogo vooruzheniya vyrabotan polnostjyu [War Has Shown: The Russian Armed Forces are Decaying and the Stock of Soviet Weapons is Fully Exhausted]’, 2 October 2008, <http://www.newsru.com/russia/02oct2008/old_weapon.html>, accessed 16 October 2016.

7 Ibid.

8 Alex Ramm, ‘Sverkhnoviy oblik Sukhoputnykh voysk [Ground Troops’ Super-New Shape]’, Novosti VPK [Military-Industrial Complex News], 11 September 2013, <http://vpk-news.ru/articles/17376>, accessed 20 October 2016.

9 The General Staff of the Russian armed forces is the direct equivalent of the British Defence Staff; the Russian Main Command of Ground Troops is the equivalent of the British Army's General Staff.

10 Surprisingly, both pro-Kremlin and strongly anti-Kremlin commentators agree that Putin was forced to sack Serdyukov. See, for instance, Mikhail Delyagin in Aleksander Sargin, ‘Putin kategoricheski ne khotel uvolnyat Serdyukova [Putin Categorically Did Not Want to Dismiss Serdyukov]’, Gorod Novostey [City of News], 9 November 2012, <http://www.city-n.ru/view/314984.html>, accessed 16 October 2016; Andrey Piontkovskiy, ‘Putin ne khotel snimat Serdyukova, ego zastavili [Putin Did Not Want to Dismiss Serdyukov, He was Forced to]’, Stringer, 19 November 2012, <http://stringer-news.com/publication.mhtml?Part=50&PubID=23396>, accessed 16 October 2016.

11 Gorod Novostey [City of News], ‘Nachalnik Genshtaba podal v otstavku [Chief of the General Staff Resigns]’, 9 November 2012, <http://www.city-n.ru/view/314972.html>, accessed 16 October 2016.

12 The term ‘the West’ is used here and at various points throughout this paper to refer to the Kremlin-perceived and ill-defined hostile block comprising NATO plus partners. The authors recognise that ‘the West’ is a highly oversimplified term from a Western perspective but is used here to reflect Russian thinking.

13 Larry Elliott, ‘Global Financial Crisis: Five Key Stages 2007-2011’, The Guardian, 7 August 2011.

14 Dmitriy Gornostaev, ‘Eltsin Napomnil Klintonu i miru: Rossiya ostaetsya yadernoy derzhavoy [Yeltsin Has Reminded Clinton and the World: Russia Remains a Nuclear Power]’, Nezavisimaya Gazeta [Independent Gazette], 10 December 1999, <http://www.ng.ru/world/1999-12-10/1_pekin.html>, accessed 16 October 2016.

15 George Kennan to George Marshall, ‘Long Telegram’, Harry S Truman Administration File, Elsey Papers, 22 February 1946, pp. 5–6, <https://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/coldwar/documents/pdf/6-6.pdf>, accessed 16 October 2016.

16 Vladimir Putin made the comment in 2015, revealing the Kremlin's mood regarding Ukraine's independence, de facto stating that the former republics of the Soviet Union that had gained independence after its dissolution were ‘Russia's own territory’: ‘after the collapse of the Soviet Union and after Russia voluntarily – I emphasise – voluntarily and deliberately self-imposed absolutely historic self-restrictions, related to abandonment of its own territory’ (emphasis added). See ‘President’, Rossiya 1 TV documentary, 26 April 2015, <https://russia.tv/video/show/brand_id/59329/episode_id/1193264/video_id/1165983/>, accessed 17 October 2016. See also Kseniya Kirilova, ‘Putin fakticheski nazval Ukrainu territoriey Rossii [Putin Actually Called Ukraine Russian Territory]’, Noviy Region [New Region], 28 April 2015, <http://nr2.ru/blogs/Ksenija_Kirillova/Putin-fakticheski-nazval-Ukrainu-territoriey-Rossii-95566.html>, accessed 10 January 2016.

17 See Vladimir Putin at the press conference after the EU–Russia Summit, Brussels, 28 January 2014, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGE6KS56pw4>, accessed 15 October 2016; The Kremlin, ‘Obraschenie Prezidenta Rossiyskoy Federatsii k Federalnomu Sobraniyu Rossiyskoy Federatsii [Address of the President of the Russian Federation]’, Vladimir Putin's address to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, 18 March 2014, <http://www.kremlin.ru/news/20603>, accessed 15 October 2016. The same position was repeatedly expressed by Putin's spokesman, Dmitriy Peskov, see Alexander Gamow, ‘Dmitriy Peskov: Rossiya nikogda ne budet vmeshivat'sya vo vnutrennie dela Ukrainy [Dmitriy Peskov: “Russia Will Never Interfere in Ukraine's Internal Affairs”]’, Komsomolskaya Pravda [Komsomol Truth], 22 January 2014, <http://www.kp.ru/daily/26184/3073444/>, accessed 15 October 2016. The upper chamber of the Russian parliament, the Federation Council, expressed the same position – see Sovet Federatsii Federalnogo Sobraniya [The Federation Council of the Federal Assembly], ‘Zayavlenie Soveta Federatsii Federalnogo Sobraniya Rossiyskoy Federatsii o situatsii na Ukraine [Statement of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly on the Situation in Ukraine]’, 29 January 2014, <http://www.council.gov.ru/press-center/news/38854/>, accessed 15 October 2016.

18 The direct equivalent in Russia of the British (or US) Army are the Ground Troops (Sukhoputnye Voyska). The Airborne Troops (including airborne, air-assault and mountain air-assault formations) are a separate branch of the armed forces directly subordinated, along with the Strategic Rocket Forces, to the General Staff. Special operations forces include two branches – Spetsnaz brigades and naval reconnaissance units, and Special Operations Command – subordinated to the General Staff of the Russian armed forces and the minister of defence, respectively.

19 The English-language version of the Russian Ministry of Defence's official website uses term ‘Aerospace Forces’. However, the authors consider this term slightly misleading here since the Russian ‘Aerospace Forces’ or VKS (Vozdushno-Kosmicheskie Sily – ‘Air-Space Force’) consist of the ‘Air Force’, ‘Space Forces’ and ‘Aerospace Defence Forces’ – while the latter is called ‘Air Defence – [Ballistic] Missile Defence Troops’ (Voyska PVO-PRO) in the Russian version of the MoD's website. Therefore, for the purposes of this study, the literal translation of VKS – ‘Air-Space Force’ – is used.