The Russian Way of Warfare: A Primer

This Perspective is intended to serve as a primer that outlines in general terms how the Russian military would conduct combat operations in the event of a high-intensity conflict with a capable peer or near-peer adversary. The discussion here blends how Russian theorists and leaders have written about modern warfare with demonstrated Russian capabilities and history. Russia has shown the ability to tailor its combat operations to specific operational and strategic requirements. The Russian military does not have one standard way of conducting operations; rather, Russia likely has developed a series of contingencies for strategic planning, based on several variables like correlation of forces, military potential of opposing forces, strategic geopolitical context, escalation potential, and others.