Soviet Military Doctrine: An Overview,

This assessment, one of a series produced by the Directorate of Estimate's Strategic Studies Division, provides a general overview of Soviet military doctrine. It examines how Soviet doctrine is formulated, how it is structured, and what it tells us about the Soviet perceptions of a future war. What emerges from this discussion is the clearly offensively oriented warfighting, warwinning nature of Soviet military doctrine and Soviet views of war and deterrence which differ fundamentally from our own. This assessment has avoided the pitfalls inherent in many Western studies which mirror image Soviet military doctrine with that of the U.S. It is published at the unclassified level to ensure the widest possible dissemination and discussion of the issues it raises. This publication should serve as a stimulus to further understanding and examination of the Soviet military threat. (Author).