DISTINCTIVE ASPECTS OF SOVIET AND RUSSIAN

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Term Paper Title	DISTINCTIVE ASPECTS OF SOVIET AND RUSSIAN
# of Words	2363
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	9.45

DISTINCTIVE ASPECTS OF SOVIET AND RUSSIAN
MILITARY THINKING

HISTORY 421

     This research paper will argue that there are four main areas in which Soviet thinking about war, strategy and defense was, and to a large extent is, distinct from Western thinking.  Firstly, Soviet and Western thinking were governed by different aims.  While the Soviet aim was messianic, the West was content to defend “national interests.”  Secondly, Russian military thinking is more holistic than Western military thinking.  This means that the Russians, unlike many in the West, do not draw sharp lines between different sectors such as the military and civilian components.  Thirdly, Russian thinking is based on systematic use of previous experience to develop a unitary scientific theory of how to prepare for and win wars.  Fourthly and lastly, Soviet military thinking is characterized by certain distinctive cultural attitudes shaped by geography, history, and ideology.
     These four areas of distinctiveness: the Ideological, Holistic, Scientific, and Cultural ways of thinking are not chosen randomly.  The criterion of significance in this research paper is that these highlighted areas are the most important from a Western security perspective.  An understanding of these four areas of distinctiveness was vital to our own survival during the Cold War.  They are still relevant today since much of the mode of thinking remains; though the messianic aims of Communism no longer play a major role.
     Soviet thinking was based on Marxist-Leninist ideology, and from a Western security point of view the aim of this ideology was important because it meant the advance of Communism and the destruction of Imperialism, especially Capitalism.  This aim is based on a theory of history that sees conflict between material interests of classes as “natural”.  In contrast, Western thinking often assumes that people have harmonious interests.  The role of war in the Marxist theory is to accelerate an inevitable process towards Communism.  War does this by putting nations to test since it aggravates the social contradictions in society.  Hence, Soviet military thinking was governed by an aim, the Communist society, and war was seen as a tool that could in certain circumstances advance this goal.
     The significance of this aim in Soviet thinking was to give it an overall coherence that the West was lacking.  Everything is purposefully subjected to this aim in a systematic way ...

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