Military-political Leadership Research Articles

ЧИ ВАРТО ПРИЗНАЧАТИ ДОСУДОВУ ДОПОВІДЬ ОСОБІ ЗА ВЧИНЕННЯ КРИМІНАЛЬНОГО ПРОСТУПКУ, ПЕРЕДБАЧЕНОГО СТ. 111-1 КРИМІНАЛЬНОГО КОДЕКСУ УКРАЇНИ

This article describes that the fact is already obvious, and it is recognized at the state level and by the international community, in the conditions of martial law, that the Russian Federation, its military-political leadership has unleashed military aggression on the territory of Ukraine and is committing daily acts against the civilian population war crimes. Therefore, for the proper response of our state to the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine and the criminalization of new socially dangerous acts for existing encroachments on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine, as well as the rights and freedoms of Ukrainian citizens, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine made a corresponding addition to the Criminal Code of Ukraine, in particular supplemented this Code of Art. 111-1 “Collaborative activity”. Since Article 111-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine is a novel for criminal justice and currently there is no scientific work in Ukraine on the issue outlined by us, therefore it will be appropriate for a comprehensive study of it to start this publication for scientific discussion. The article singles out the problematic issues of appointing a guilty person for committing a criminal misdemeanor provided for in Art. 111-1-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine punishment and its execution by the staff of the authorized body on probation. It has been proven that the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine created the basis for the emergence of such a socially dangerous act as collaborative activity on the territory of our state. It was noted that a certain group of people appeared who publicly began to deny the enemy’s armed aggression against Ukraine, voluntarily began to help the occupier through cooperation or interaction, to conduct propaganda in educational institutions regardless of ownership, and began to transfer material resources to illegal armed or paramilitary formations, created in the temporarily occupied territory. According to Art. 12 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, the legislator defined a criminal misdemeanor as an act (act or inaction) provided for by this Code, for the commission of which the main punishment is prescribed in the form of a fine in the amount of no more than three thousand non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens or other punishment not related to deprivation of liberty, it is possible consider that the court’s appointment of a probationer as punishment in the form of “Deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities” is the alternative that a person can serve for committing a criminal misdemeanor in the subdivisions of the authorized bodies on probation issues. The concept of a collaborator is defined as a physical, reprehensible person, a citizen of Ukraine who has reached the age of criminal responsibility and knowingly cooperates with or leads illegally created bodies in the temporarily occupied territories and does everything to undermine the sovereignty of the state. The concept of a pre-trial report is formulated – it is the result of a socio-psychological examination of a person who has committed a criminal offense provided for in Article 111-1 part 1-2 and for his act the court deprives the convicted person of the right to hold a position or engage in certain activities. In the context of the above, it has been proven that the pre-trial report is one of the tools of the court to obtain additional information on the accused (collaborator) and to use it during court debates and subsequent objective adoption by the court of the measure of punishment for the criminal misdemeanor committed by him. Key words: criminal responsibility, court, authorized body on probation, criminal misdemeanor, collaborator, pre-trial report, punishment.

ОБРАЗ РОССИЙСКОГО ПАНСЛАВИЗМА У ГЕРМАНСКОЙ ВОЕННО-ПОЛИТИЧЕСКОЙ ЭЛИТЫ 1870–1880-х гг.

Последняя треть XIX в. стала временем значительного ухудшения российско-герман-ских отношений. Важной причиной были действия германского политического и военного руководства, основанные на определенных представлениях о Российской империи, в т. ч. о российском панславизме. Целью статьи является выяснение особенностей образа российского панславизма у германской военно-политической элиты (военных и государственных деятелей). В результате изучения широкого круга разнообразных источников можно сделать вывод о том, что понятие «панславизм» активно использовалось в указанной среде с конца 1870-х по конец 1880-х гг. в качестве собирательного термина для обозначения разных политических и общественных течений, направленных на изменение внутренней и внешней политики России. Панславизм воспринимался всеми представителями германской военно-политической элиты вне зависимости от их взглядов как крайне могущественная, иррациональная и потому опасная сила, стремившаяся к войне с Германией. The last third of the 19th century was a time of significant deterioration in Russian-German relations. Among important reasons were the actions of the German political and military leadership, based on certain ideas about the Russian Empire, including pan-Slavism. The goal of this article is to determine the characteristic features of the image of Russian pan-Slavism among the German military-political elite. After studying a wide range of various sources, it can be concluded that the concept of "pan-Slavism" was actively used by German politicians and generals from the late 1870s to the late 1880s as a term for all trends aimed at changing the domestic and foreign policy of Russia. Pan-Slavism was perceived as an extremely powerful, irrational, and therefore dangerous force, striving for war with Germany.

Stalingrad in the strategic plans of the military-political leadership of the USSR and Germany in 1942-1943

The article presents the modern concept of the history of the Battle of Stalingrad, as well as the totality of the most important strategic decisions of the warring parties, which led to the crushing defeat of the Wehrmacht, the elimination of its 6th german Army, which became one of the most important turning points in World War II.

FACTORS THAT INFLUENCED THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOVIET MADE MAIN BATTLE TANKS (1991 – 2022)

The article reveals a complex of factors that influenced the content and direction of the modernization program for the main tanks T-64, T-72, and T-80 in Ukraine. A special role in this process was played by unimportant factors, among which the leading ones were the experience of the combat use of main tanks, the multiple-quality state of the tank fleet of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the favorability of the tank-building and tank-repair industry of Ukraine for the development and implementation of the tank modernization program, and the experience of foreign modernization of these types of tanks, which fully influenced the development of the main tanks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It was established that, despite significant economic difficulties and changes in the views of the top military-political leadership of Ukraine on the role of tanks in the modern armed struggle, Ukraine has retained the opportunity to provide its Armed Forces with the necessary number of tanks that meet today’s requirements.

Behind the Scenes of the Jam Expedition: Russia's Planning of Warfare in Central Asia in 1878

The author examines Russia’s planning of warfare in Central Asia in 1878 while preparing for a possible war with the coalition of Great Britain, Austria-Hungary and Turkey. The development of the war plan was caused by the inability of the Russian army weakened by the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878 to conduct active military operations in Europe. Instead, it was aimed to influence Great Britain by creating a threat to its richest colony - India. In the historical literature there is no clear answer to the question about the goals of the unsuccessful Jam expedition. In this regard, the aim of this research is to reveal the content of the failed campaign’s plan based on the available historical sources and try to reconstruct Russia’s war plan against Great Britain in Central Asia, as well as to show its significance in the further process of war planning in the region. The author comes to conclusion that the Russian military-political leadership initially expected to invade India, but due to the changed situation they conducted just demonstration actions. The failure of the Jam expedition showed the Russian commanders the need to search for a springboard for future actions against India. Moreover, based on the experience of the unsuccessful campaign, the Russian commanders began regular planning for war against Great Britain in Central Asia which provided for the conduct of offensive operations in the direction of Herat.

Scientific and practical analysis of the terms used in the disposition of Art. 436-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine

The article carries out a scientific and practical analysis of the terms used by the legislator in the disposition of Article 436-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, and which, in fact, are an innovation in the science of criminal law of Ukraine. In particular, the author's interpretation of such forms of the objective side of the above-mentioned criminal offense as "justification", "recognition as legitimate", "denial", "glorification" is given. In addition, the authors carried out: substantiation from the point of view of domestic legislation and international law of the facts of the armed aggression of the russian federation against Ukraine, which began in 2014, and the temporary occupation of part of the territory of Ukraine; understanding the general reasons for the criminalization of actions that form the objective side of the criminal offense provided for in Art. 436-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine; consideration of the above terms in their general meaning and in the meaning determined by the context of criminal liability.
 The non-acceptance of the obvious fact that the military-political leadership of the russian federation launched an aggressive war against our country and occupied part of the territories, when this fact was established and recognized at the state level and by the international community, in the conditions of martial law, is, on the one hand, a prerequisite for collaborative activities within the state, and on the other hand, to the support of the crime of aggression by representatives of other states. Justification, recognition as legitimate, denial of the armed aggression of the russian federation against Ukraine, glorification of its participants are part of the information war of the russian federation against Ukraine, aimed at leveling the external grounds for repelling the armed aggression of the terrorist country, as well as preventing society from rallying around a national strategy of unity to repel threats to the national statehood, territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine.
 Despite the fact that since the introduction of criminal liability for the above-mentioned acts, enough time has passed for the formation of judicial and investigative practice of bringing people to criminal liability, the theoretical basis for the interpretation of certain terms has not yet been created. In general, the scientific conclusions obtained in the article can be the beginning of the formation of such a foundation.

ЗАГРОЗИ НАЦІОНАЛЬНІЙ БЕЗПЕЦІ УКРАЇНИ НА СУЧАСНОМУ ЕТАПІ: ОСНОВИ ПРАВОВОГО АНАЛІЗУ АГРЕСИВНОЇ ЗБРОЙНОЇ ПОЛІТИКИ РОСІЇ

The article provides a legal analysis of the aggressive policy of the Russian Federation in the conditions of armed aggression against Ukraine and the resulting threats to Ukraine's national security at the current stage. It is noted that in order to protect its national interests and ensure national security, Ukraine has all the historical, legal and political grounds for protecting its national interests and ensuring the safety of its citizens. Analysis of the Constitution of Ukraine, national legislation, international acts implemented in national legislation prove to the whole world that Ukraine does not threaten other countries, has no territorial and economic claims to other subjects of international law. The conducted analysis showed that the aggressive policy of the Russian Federation, the armed attack on Ukraine, the waging of a war of aggression (disguised by the invented term "special military operation"), as a means of solving its great power ambitions, is a violation of international law, the principles of the UN, the laws of humanism and humanity. The Russian Federation, its military-political leadership and direct executors of the specified crimes. It has been proven that the military aggression of the Russian Federation endangers all elements of Ukraine's national security: the social and humanitarian sphere, the economic sphere, the domestic political and foreign political sphere, the information sphere, the sphere of state and military security, the sphere of the state border of Ukraine, the ecological sphere. The very fact of an armed invasion of independent Ukraine, the occupation of part of the territory of Ukraine, the killing of the civilian population, looting, the forced internment of Ukrainian citizens, the destruction of cultural heritage sites, the blowing up of the Kakhovskaya HPP, forced mobilization in the temporarily occupied territories - this is an incomplete list of the criminal actions of the aggressor country.

Indirect Actions of United States in Confrontation with Russia of Past and Future in Post-Soviet Space

The article presents the author’s comments and conclusions from the program of the American military-political leadership, which has been implemented for seventy-five years, indicated in the directive 20/1 “US goals in the war against Russia” adopted by the US National Security Council on August 18, 1948.

On the Question of the Polish-Japanese Military Alliance against the USSR in 1922-1939

The article is devoted to the problem of the existence of a secret Polish-Japanese military agreement, which was allegedly concluded in 1931 and directed against the Soviet Union, which has long been debated in Russian historical science. The first message that Warsaw and Tokyo had concluded a secret military alliance was received by the Soviet military-political leadership through the foreign intelligence of state security agencies, citing a reliable source in March 1932. Information about this was received in Moscow for several more years, so the probability of a simultaneous attack against our country by Japan and Poland was laid by the Soviet General Staff in the plans for the strategic deployment of the Armed Forces up to 1939. However, an analysis of the surviving documents of the Polish and Japanese military authorities indicates that there were no agreements between Warsaw and Tokyo on conducting joint military operations against the Soviet Union. Poland, in the event of a conflict, hoped to rely on military assistance from France and Romania on the basis of interstate agreements of 1921. Japan in 1922-1939 had no allies in Europe, so its operational planning did not provide for the support of a third power, but was based on the principle of elastic defense in the north and west of Manchuria with simultaneous counterattack on the Soviet grouping of troops in the Ussuri Region. Nevertheless, in 1922-1939, the military departments of Warsaw and Tokyo carried out close cooperation in the field of intelligence and counterintelligence, thanks to which a powerful decryption service was created in Japan. In addition, Japanese officers were trained in the Polish army.

Belarusian People’s Republic 1918: a failed statehood

This article analyses the events and trends that determined the fate of attempts to form the Belarusian state in the conditions of the finale of World War One. The author has based his research on the study of the German occupation policy and the process of implementing the Brest-Litovsk peace treaties. It demonstrates that the foundations for the negative factors that blocked the appearance of a united Belarus were laid long before the beginning of the Soviet-Polish war. The BPR leaders’ interaction with the occupational authorities was determined not only by different subjective factors, but also by the fundamental refusal to place Belarus on the political map of 1918. This moment is not properly reflected in modern historiography of the issue, especially the Belarusian one. The role of neighbouring states and various national forces in the reconfiguration of post-imperial spaces under the pressure of the German Empire, within the framework of the Brest system of international relations created in 1918, is examined. Within its framework the RSFSR was to receive the place of the most important counteragent, who sought to obtain the maximum influence on the basis of mutually beneficial deals with the military-political leadership of the Kaiserreich. Although the projects of German hegemony in Eastern Europe were thwarted by the defeat of the Central Powers, the period of the First German Occupation and the partition of Belarusian territories between Soviet Russia and its western neighbours became the geopolitical basis for the fate of the nations of Belarus throughout the interwar period.

Воєнно-економічні цикли у контексті цивілізаційного розвитку

The article substantiates that wars are an inevitable component of civilizational development, during which periods of peaceful development and periods of the intensification of military violence alternate, appearing in the form of large-scale military conflicts affecting the form of resolution of the contradictions of social evolution. All historical forms of the most developed civilizations are social organisms based on class antagonism. Class inequality and exploitation, characteristic of civilizations that reached the empire level of development in the pre-capitalist era, and under the conditions of the capitalist world-system as a contender for the role of global hegemon, encourage them to perform external military expansion in order to acquire colonies and establish in them a system of exploitation. Military technologies have acquired the greatest lethality under the conditions of capitalism, while the military economy is an important component of the capitalist economy. However, already in the agrarian society, there were military-economic cycles, in particular those associated with cycles of power, which were expressed in the synchronicity of the emergence, strengthening, and decline of ruling dynasties in China and steppe empires in Mongolia, as well as the cycles of xenocratic state characteristic of the medieval Maghreb. The cyclicity of wars is clearly visible in long-term cycles that determine the dynamics of the capitalist world-system, such as Kondratiev cycles, long cycles of world politics, and cycles of hegemony. The military-economic cycles in historical retrospect and in modern conditions are conditioned by the struggle for resources that allow social units or complex social organisms, who win in the struggle for military-political leadership to dominate, creating political-economic systems of domination-exploitation, which allows the hegemonic civilization for some time to develop successfully. Each historical form of domination based political-economic system contained the prerequisites for the next war for regional or global leadership in the form of deep socio-economic, political and civilizational contradictions.

Военно-политические аспекты разгрома японских войск на Дальнем Востоке

The end of the Second World War was significantly accelerated by the entry of the USSR into the war against Japan and the liquidation of the Kwantung Army. The formal violation of the neutrality treaty was justified by both the unfriendly position of Japan, its support for Germany, and the desire to end the largest war in history quickly, to avoid new victims and eliminate the hotbed of military tension near the borders of the USSR. In view of the obvious and overwhelming advantage of the Soviet Army in training, experience, tactical thinking and in all types of weapons, the outcome of the 1945 summer campaign in the Far East was beyond doubt. At the same time, the Japanese military-political leadership nevertheless got involved in the conflict, protecting the annexed territory, which brought new, senseless sacrifices. The international legal causes and consequences of these events remain the subject of discussion.

The European human rights protection system: challenges as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine

The article analyzes the challenges faced by the European human rights protection system since the beginning of a new full-scale phase of armed aggression on the territory of Ukraine. Attention is focused on the gender-based nature of the argumentation used by the Russian military-political leadership to justify the invasion, in particular, its similarity to the typical explanation of the offender who commits domestic violence. Two large groups of challenges caused by the impact of the armed conflict since 24 February 2022 are singled out: the first includes challenges related to the consequences of the cessation of membership of the Russian Federation in the Council of Europe (CoE), i.e. the Russian Federation no longer has the right to be represented in the CoE’s organs or bodies, it is bound to fulfil its full financial obligations, to implement the ECtHR judgements, etc.; the second relates to the likely change in the nature and scope of application to the European Court of Human Rights. Based on statistical data and taking into account that the Court remains competent to deal with applications directed against the Russian Federation in relation to acts or omissions capable of constituting a violation of the Convention provided that they occurred until 16 September 2022, as well as in view of the planned campaign of submissions of thousands of applications against Ukraine in order to discredit it made by lawyers from Russia and the occupied Ukrainian territories, it is predicted that the share of applications against Russia in the ECtHR would be decreasing while the share of applications against Ukraine would be increasing. Depending on the subject composition of the applicants and respondent states, the author singles out four types of potential applications to the ECtHR made by: everyone within the Ukrainian jurisdiction against Ukraine; everyone within the Ukrainian jurisdiction against the Russian Federation (until 16 September 2022); citizens of the Russian Federation residing in Europe against the CoE member state(s); citizens of Ukraine residing in Europe against the CoE member state(s).
 It is assumed that one of the biggest challenges for both the ECtHR and the domestic legal system would be applications to the ECtHR against Ukraine submitted not only by victims of armed conflict (or their relatives), but also by convicted persons, in particular, for the commission of war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of genocide, and by persons who have suffered restrictions of their rights due to assistance to the aggressor state or as a result of the legal regime of martial law. In this context, for domestic legal system is crucial to comply with procedural obligations under Art. 2 and Art. 3 of the Convention regarding the effective investigation of deaths, allegations of torture and inhuman treatment, the right to a fair trial under Art. 6, the right to liberty and security under Art. 5, in particular when it comes to pre-trial detention, no punishment without law under Art. 7. In non-criminal cases the justification of interference in non-absolute rights guaranteed by the Convention should be done in accordance with the three-step test, and reflected in he well-reasoned court decisions.

THE QUESTION OF BURGAS IN THE RUSSIAN PREPARATION FOR THE BOSPHORUS OPERATION

The article is devoted to the question of the possible occupation of Burgas in the context of the preparation for the Bosphorus operation. The approaches to this issue of the military-political leadership of the Russian Empire are analyzed, and the importance of Burgas in the light of the planned amphibious warfare is shown.

Modern development of the international system and its impact on the management of the national defense of the Russian Federation

The article analyzes the current state of the system of international relations in the context of the transformation of the modern world order. It is determined that cardinal changes in the system of international relations occur due to the destructive policy of the collective West led by the United States, aimed at maintaining a unipolar world and dominance in the world political process. Under these conditions, the new centers of world development, to which the authors include Russia, China and India, tend to pursue an independent and uncontrolled foreign policy, which is not supported by Washington. It is noted that the confrontation between the leading centers of regional and world development for global leadership is accompanied by the destruction of the architecture of international security and the unleashing of a new arms race. It is stated that during the presidency of D. Trump, the United States, trying to stop the economic development of China, unleashed world sanctions wars, which resumed with the greatest force after the arrival of the new US President D. Biden and the start of a special military operation in Ukraine. It is determined that the sanctions wars gave rise to global risks, to which the authors include the destruction of the institutions of international law, the support of the West for organized transnational criminal groups in the areas of drug traffi cking and the organization of illegal migration, the fi nancing and support of the United States and its allies of terrorist and extremist organizations, radicals and Nazis. Numerous examples of numerous sanctions imposed against the Russian Federation in the political, economic, military, social, legal and other spheres of public life are given, which required the states to coordinate their actions to ensure the national security of the Russian Federation, and the federal executive authorities to develop and apply numerous countermeasures against them. The modern activities of the military-political leadership of the Russian Federation are analyzed, which made it possible to neutralize the main challenges and threats to the Russian state, increase the level of the country's defense capability, and protect the main spheres of public life of Russian society from the destructive impact of foreign policy factors. The results are summed up and the authors make a forecast about the further development of the system of international relations, as well as the place and role of the Russian Federation in them.

Межкультурный диалог США и Китая в парадигме информационно-психологической войны: лингвориторический аспект

The article examines the communicative strategies of ideological influence implemented by the military-political leadership of the United States through global media structures within the framework of diplomatic relations and intercultural exchange of the countries of the collective West with the People’s Republic of China. Linguistic and rhetorical features of intercultural interaction and political communication are considered in textual examples in English and Chinese, reflecting the content of negotiation practice between representatives of public authorities, as well as based on materials of socio-political events, reflecting the opinions of experts and individuals. The authors’ research focuses on verbal forms and means of indoctrination identified in the communicative strategies implemented by the US military-political leadership with the help of global media structures, as well as discursive practices of the party and political elite of the PRC, explicated in responding to threats and challenges in the consentient sphere. Based on the results of semantic-structural, pragmatic, and cognitive analysis of the text, the authors identify verbal markers of argumentation, persistence and manipulation that form the methodological basis of ideological influence in the context of global informational and psychological confrontation. As a discourse paradigm, the paper considers sociocultural and significant interpretations of reality that coexist at the present stage of modern history, broadcast in the English-language macro-discourse of the American mass media during the establishment of an intercultural dialogue with China. During a comprehensive linguistic analysis, the pragmatic potential of verbal means of establishing an intercultural dialogue between the collective West and China in the format of civilizational coupling is assessed, in the process of which the target audience is imposed precisely those value orientations that are designed to form the conceptual basis of ideologically determined mass consciousness. In the light of the Linguistic Rhetorical Paradigm, the thesis is postulated that discourse-syntagma is represented as a cognitive-interpretative conflict manifested by linguistic means of heterogeneous discursive practices, because of which the addressee creates an understanding of reality determined by the intention of the actor of ideological discourse, which in the future may serve as a ground for manipulating consciousness and regulating the behavior of the addressee. The conclusions of the study confirm the theoretical positions of the Sochi Linguistic Rhetorical School that competing socio-political discourses enter paradigmatic and syntagmatic relations with each other, and that the same subject of speech can use his linguistic rhetorical tools of ethos support both in a negative and in a positive direction.

Конструювання кризового наративу в українських медіа під час повномасштабного вторгнення рф

The full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation was a reason to construct a crisis narrative by Ukrainian political actors. The key issues for the narrative were not only the reasons for the invasion, but Ukraine’s readiness for it, as well as the ability to resist the Russian occupation. It’s additionally important to consider the constant attacks of Kremlin propaganda on Ukrainian public opinion and attempts to undermine the narrative proposed by the military-political leadership. In this context, it is relevant to monitor the crisis narrative as it appears in the mass media. The purpose of this study is to observe the construction of the crisis narrative through the analysis of the functions of the leading political actors (narrators) in it. Research material: news publications of «Ukrayins`ka pravda». Period: January – June 2022. Methods: content analysis, as well as modified narrative analysis based on NLP – natural language processing. The collection of material, as well as its processing was possible with the help of computer programs (Python language). It was found that attention to the leading political actors indicates that the media narratives before the invasion, during the first and second phases were changing. The significant presence of Ukrainian political actors in the media indicates that it was they who shaped these narratives. It was revealed that in January-February, attention was focused on internal events, and the threat of invasion was considered unlikely. Instead, in March-April, most hopes were placed on the help of the West and Western leaders, who were supposed to stop Russia. However, already in May-June, internal Ukrainian political actors came forward, which indicated a desire to act independently, and the very idea of «appeasement» with Russia was mostly rejected. Kuleba, Zelensky and Biden were the most popular speakers. Instead, attention to Macron’s quotes decreased over time, and Putin’s words were almost not of interest to the media at all. As for the more specific roles of political actors, Zelenskyi and Kuleba were the leading storytellers shaping Ukrainian crisis narrative.

The activity of Japanese military intelligence against the USSR in 1922-1945

Japan's military intelligence has been continuously working around the world since 1871, and Russia has always remained one of its main goals. After the end of the intervention in 1922, the Japanese government took a course to normalize relations with our country, in connection with which the intelligence agencies of the empire monitored the activities of the Soviet leadership to strengthen the defense and economic potential of the state and the implementation of foreign policy objectives in the Far East, without conducting subversive actions. The USSR state security agencies managed to arrange the transfer of inflated data on the state of the Red Army to the Japanese military intelligence, as the central intelligence agency of the empire, therefore, in 1923-1931, Tokyo's military planning against our country was defensive in nature. After the capture of Manchuria in 1932, Japan faced the Soviet Union's buildup of its troops beyond Lake Baikal, regarding this fact as preparation for an invasion of Northeast China. Japanese intelligence intensified its activities to collect information about the intentions of the Soviet leadership and engaged in the organization of a sabotage apparatus in the event of a war with the USSR in 1937-1938, however, counter measures of the Soviet state security bodies hampered the work of the empire's special services in our country. After the defeat on the Khalkhin-Gol river (1939), the military-political leadership of Japan carried out a radical reorganization of the military intelligence agencies, strengthening their personnel and betting on the collection of information by technical means. Thanks to the information received from the foreign intelligence apparatus, the government of the Empire in the summer and autumn of 1941 came to the conclusion that it was inappropriate to attack the Soviet Union. The entry of the USSR into the war against militaristic Japan in 1945 drew a line under the activities of the empire's military intelligence and became a prologue to its transition to US control.

The plan of the military-political leadership of the United Kingdom to conduct operation «Consent»

The plan of the military-political leadership of the United Kingdom to conduct operation «Consent»

Debates on the Role of the US Theatre Missile Defense in Regional Deterrence of Russia and China

Studies on missile defense, both in Russia and abroad, have been tradition- ally focused either on capabilities of the US national missile defense system to parry Russian or Chinese strategic nuclear forces, or on regional deter- rence of North Korea and Iran by means of regional missile defense (theater missile defense, TMD). However, the 2019 Missile Defense Review (MDR) emphasized the role of the TMD systems in the regional deterrence of the Russian Federation and China. So far this issue has received little attention and this paper aims to fill that gap. The first section identifies the key points of the MDR concerning the capabilities of regional missile defense for regional deterrence of the major nuclear powers. The author also examines the views of different represen- tatives of the US Department of Defense on this issue, and concludes that the US military-political leadership has a generally positive assessment of the capabilities of the TMD systems to contain Russia and China in case of a regional crisis. In particular, planners emphasize the role of the regional missile defense in countering the ‘anti-access/access-denial’ capabilities and the concept of ‘escalate to de-escalate’ ascribed to Russia. At the same time, US policymakers express in that regard serious concerns about Russia’s and China’s progress in the development of hypersonic missile systems. The second section examines the ongoing debates in Western expert so- ciety on the role of the regional missile defense in terms of deterring Russia and China. The author concludes that in this respect experts can provisionally be divided into two groups. The first group generally supports the arguments of the US military-political leadership and is optimistic about TMD capabili- ties for regional deterrence of Russia and China. The second group is more critical of these capabilities. They point out the lack of accurate data on the combat capabilities of such systems in active warfare and criticize question- able theoretical assumptions of their opponents. The third section provides a critical analysis of the arguments presented in this debate. The author concludes that the current concepts of deterrence based on the use of regional missile defense systems do not fully address possible implications for regional security and strategic stability. The Russian Federation and China possess significant nuclear arsenals, which already make nuclear escalation involving these countries and the United States possible. Adding yet another variable (TMD) into this equation only aggravates the situation.