An Overview of the Development of the Russian Information Warfare Concept Part 1

Dóra Dévai

doi:10.32563/hsz.2020.1.2

Abstract

After the infamous cyberattacks against Estonia in 2007 and the Ukrainian conflict in 2014–2015, the Russian military theory, and in particular, Information Warfare (IW) doctrines, have come into the centre of attention. IW has played a very peculiar role in the Russian political and military theory and practice, and its current state can be regarded as a climax in its evolution. To gain an in-depth understanding of the Russian strategic thinking, the first part of this article strives to give an account of the unique nature of the Russian way of IW.

Highlights

In the period after the cyberattack against Estonia in 2007 as well as after the Ukrainian conflict in 2014–2015, Russian military theory and Information Warfare (IW) doctrines, in particular, have come into the limelight
Going beyond the analysis of each primary strategic or doctrinal source separately, strategic theory or operational art examines a corpus of sources and contextual factors to identify how the nature and character of warfare2 is evolving in light of, for example, pervasive technological development, and what kind of strategic, organisational and capability adjustments this requires on the national level
In terms of Russia, Dmitry Adamsky, an Israeli strategic scientist of Russian origin explains this comprehensive approach as operational art: “In Russian military science, the term operational art is a sphere of military affairs interconnecting strategy and tactics, and it means the theory and practice of achieving strategic goals through design, organization, and conduct of campaigns, operations, and battles

Summary

Introduction

In the period after the cyberattack against Estonia in 2007 as well as after the Ukrainian conflict in 2014–2015, Russian military theory and Information Warfare (IW) doctrines, in particular, have come into the limelight. Going beyond the analysis of each primary strategic or doctrinal source separately, strategic theory or operational art examines a corpus of sources and contextual factors to identify how the nature and character of warfare is evolving in light of, for example, pervasive technological development, and what kind of strategic, organisational and capability adjustments this requires on the national level. The theory of operational art explores change and continuity in the current character of war and highlights the most optimal concept of operations, organizational structures, and weaponry for a given historical period.”

Objectives

Conclusion