Abstract
In the past few years some Western observers have expressed growing concern about the state of civil-military relations in the Soviet Union. The issue was presented in its starkest form by a headline in the American press: ‘Will the Soviet Military Assume Power?’1 This question received increasing attention in the West following the imposition of martial law in Poland, and later in the period of uncertain political succession preceding the emergence of Mikhail Gorbachev as the new Soviet leader. Several events, including the removal of Marshal Nikolai Ogarkov as Chief of the General Staff, the death of Defence Minister Dmitrii Ustinov, and his replacement by Marshal Sergei Sokolov have again focused attention on Soviet civil-military relations. This chapter seeks to provide a better understanding of the issue, in its historical context, and particularly in its relevance to contemporary Soviet politics.
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Notes
The most prominent exponent of this view is Roman Kolkowicz, The Soviet Military and the Communist Party (Princeton, New Jersey, 1967);
for a concise and somewhat revised statement of his position, see Kolkowicz’s chapter in H. Gordon Skilling and Franklyn Griffiths (eds), Interest Groups in Soviet Politics (Princeton, New Jersey, 1971).
The most important work is Timothy J. Colton, Commissars, Commanders, and Civilian Authority: The Structure of Soviet Military Politics (Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1979);
another strong statement of the argument is William E. Odom, ‘The Party Connection’, Problems of Communism, vol. xxii, no. 5 (September-October 1973) 12–26.
Andrew Cockburn, The Threat: Inside the Soviet Military Machine (New York, 1983).
For a combination of both approaches, see Edward L. Warner III, The Military in Contemporary Soviet Politics: An Institutional Analysis (New York, 1977).
On these earlydebates, see two chapters by John Erickson, ‘The Origins of the Red Army’, in Richard Pipes (ed.), Revolutionary Russia (Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1968) pp. 224–56;
and ‘Some Military and Political Aspects of the “Military Army” Controversy, 1919–1920’ in C. Abramsky (ed.), Essays in Honour of E. H. Carr (London, 1974) pp. 204–28. See David Holloway’s discussion, ‘Military Power and the Soviet State’, the first chapter in his The Soviet Union and the Arms Race (New Haven, Connecticut, 1983) pp. 3–14.
I. V. Berkhin, Voennaia reforma v SSSR (1924–25 gg.) [Military Reform in the USSR (1924–5)] (Moscow, 1958); and Holloway, ‘Military Power’, p. 4.
See M. V. Frunze, ‘Edinaia voennaia doktrina i Krasnaia Armiia’ [A Unified Military Doctrine and the Red Army] in Izbrannye proizvedenia [Collected Works] (Moscow, 1957) pp. 4–22; for a contemporary Soviet discussion,
see ch. 3 in I. A. Korotkov, Istoriia Sovetskoi voennoi mysli [History of Soviet Military Thought] (Moscow, 1980).
For a recent Western treatment see Condoleezza Rice, ‘The Makers of Soviet Strategy’, in Gordon Craig and Peter Paret (eds), The Makers of Modern Strategy (Princeton, New Jersey, 1985).
Holloway, ‘Military Power’ and Vernon Aspaturian, ‘The Stalinist Legacy in Soviet National Security Decisionmaking’ in Jiri Valenta and William C. Potter (eds), Soviet Decisionmaking for National Security (London, 1983) pp. 23–73.
V. Tolubko, Nedelin: Pervyi glavkom strategicheskikh [Nedelin: First Commander of the Strategic (Rocket Forces)] (Moscow, 1979) esp. pp. 181–8.
Dimitri K. Simes, ‘The Military and Militarism in Soviet Society’, International Security, vol. vi, no. 3 (Winter 1981–2) 132.
This section draws on David Holloway, ‘Decision-making in Soviet Defence Policies’, in International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), Prospects of Soviet Power in the 1980s, Part II, Adelphi Paper no. 152 (London, 1979) pp. 24–31.
Richard D. Anderson, Jr, ‘Soviet Decison-making and Poland’, Problems of Communism, vol. xxxi, no. 2 (March–April 1982) 22–36;
and David Holloway’s introduction, esp. pp. 31–4, in Holloway and Jane Sharp (eds), The Warsaw Pact: Alliance in Transition? (Ithaca, New York, 1984).
Petro G. Grigorenko, Memoirs, trans. Thomas P. Whitney (New York, 1982) pp. 224–6.
Marshal G. K. Zhukov, Vospominaniia i razmyshleniia [Reminiscences and Reflections] 3 vols, (Moscow, 1983).
Valdimir Lavrinenkov, Bez voiny [Without War] (Kiev, 1982) pp. 215–17.
Ustinov’s article was entitled, ‘Otvesti ugrozu iadernoi voiny’ [To Avert the Threat of Nuclear War], Pravda, 12 July 1982; the first interpretation is Ronald G. Purver, ‘Soviet Arms Control Policy in 1982’ in David R. Jones (ed.), Soviet Armed Forces Review Annual (Gulf Breeze, Florida, 1983) pp. 399–401;
the second is Dan L. Strode and Rebecca V. Strode, ‘Diplomacy and Defense in Soviet National Security Policy’, International Security, vol. viii, no. 2 (Fall 1983) 101–2;
for another discussion, see Stephen M. Meyer, Soviet Theatre Nuclear Forces, Part I: Development of Doctrine and Objectives, Adelphi Paper no. 188 (London, 1983) pp. 27–30.
D. F. Ustinov, Borot’sia za mir, ukrepliat’ oboronosposobnost’ [To Fight for Peace, To Stengthen Defense Capability] (Moscow, 1983).
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Office of Soviet analysis, USSR: Economic Trends and Policy Developments (Joint Economic Committee Briefing Paper, 14 September 1983) pp. 7–11. See also Richard F. Kaufman, ‘Causes of the Slowdown in Soviet Defense’, Soviet Economy, vol. i, no. 1 (January–March 1985) 9–31.
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© 1988 International School on Disarmament and Research on Conflicts, Tenth Course
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Evangelista, M.A. (1988). Military Influence in Soviet Politics: Red Militarism or National Security Consenus?. In: Carlton, D., Schaerf, C. (eds) The Arms Race in the Era of Star Wars. Studies in Disarmament and Conflicts. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-06988-0_4
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