Russia approved an updated version of its military doctrine at the end of 2014. The new document replaces the doctrine adopted in February 2010 during Dmitry Medvedev’s presidency. The revision work was done quickly in Autumn 2014.
This report examines the main changes in the military doctrine, and their implications for Russia’s foreign and security policy. Studying these changes helps to understand the key premises and goals of Russian security policy.
The main conclusion of the analysis is that with the update, the military doctrine has been adjusted to meet the needs of a crisis period. The doctrine’s description of current world politics at large reflects the way Russia seeks to define global phenomena as a struggle between value systems and models of development. The new wordings emphasise the dynamics between external military threats and Russia’s internal stability.
