The Russian General Staff : Understanding the Military's Decisionmaking Role in a "Besieged Fortress" / Alexis A. Blanc.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Blanc, Alexis A., author.

Contributor:

United States. European Command

International Security and Defense Policy Center

Rand Corporation

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Military planning--Russia (Federation).

Strategy.

Russo-Ukrainian War, 2014-.

Russia (Federation)--Military policy.

Crimea (Ukraine)--Annexation to Russia (Federation).

Syria--History--Civil War, 2011---Participation, Russian.

Military planning.

Military policy.

Russia (Federation).

Syria.

Ukraine--Crimea.

Genre:

History

Physical Description:

xi, 120 pages : color illustrations ; 28 cm

Place of Publication:

Santa Monica, CA : RAND, [2023]

Summary:

The Russian General Staff is unlike any single organization within the U.S. defense establishment. The absence of an analog in the United States means that audiences within the U.S. civilian and military communities largely are unfamiliar with the concept of a General Staff. Because of the increasing militarization of Russian foreign policy since 2008, it is important to understand not only the formal authorities and responsibilities of this institution but also its capacity to influence Russia's national security decisionmaking process. In this report, the authors develop a foundational text for policymakers and warfighters to improve collective understanding of the Russian General Staff. The authors first draw on a variety of primary and secondary Russian-language sources-e.g., statutes, speeches by political and military elites, and academic military writings-to inform their characterization of the General Staff's statutory mandate. They then place the General Staff in a comparative institutional context, providing a high-level evaluation of the institutional roles, responsibilities, and authorities of the General Staff's U.S. counterpart-the Joint Staff. They consider what the formal roles and responsibilities of the General Staff suggest about the relative balance of power among Russia's political leaders, the General Staff, and the broader Russian military. The authors then take this understanding and apply it to the roles and responsibilities of the General Staff in a practical context by analyzing two case studies of this institution's involvement in recent conflicts: Ukraine (2014-2021) and Syria (2015-2019).

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: ch. One Introduction

The Issue

Research Approach

Caveats

Organization of This Report

ch. Two Roles and Responsibilities of the Russian General Staff

The Formal Roles and Responsibilities of the General Staff

Supporting Internal Structure and Staffing

Concluding Observations

ch. Three The Russian General Staff in Comparative Context

History and Responsibilities of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff

Comparative Organizational Structures and Responsibilities

Authorities

Divergent Mandates, Divergent Aptitudes

Observations Based on High-Level Comparative Analysis

ch. Four The General Staff and the Balance of Power

Early Attempts at Russian Defense Reform: A Master Class in Obstruction

Explaining the Generals' Success in Obstruction

How the Stars Aligned Behind Change

ch. Five The General Staff in a Practical Context: Ukraine Case Study

Introduction

Crimea, the Donbas, and the Russian General Staff

Russian Intervention in Crimea

Russian Intervention in the Donbas

The Russian General Staff's Role in Executing the Crimea and Donbas Campaigns

Executing the Donbas Operation

Key Decisions, Actors, and Relationships in the Ukraine Conflict

Lessons Learned by the General Staff from Crimea and the Donbas

ch. Six The General Staff in a Practical Context: Syria Case Study

Russian Intervention in Syria

Command and Control and Chain of Command in Syria

Syria Key Decisions, Actors, and Relationships

Key Lessons Learned

ch. Seven Drawing Conclusions About the Role of the General Staff in National Security Decisionmaking

Formal and Informal Systems Inform Decisionmaking

Divining Priorities from Organizational Structure.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 105-120)

ISBN:

1977410944

9781977410948

OCLC:

1374794960