ABSTRACT
The extra-military nature of the concept is illustrated by the recent addition to Soviet military doctrine of the supposition that the military’s primary function is to avoid war. Soviet military doctrine has two basic elements, the socio-political element and the military-technical element. The General Staff is responsible for the development of Soviet military science and Soviet military art-developing the means and methods of warfare, which together make up the military-technical element of Soviet military doctrine. Dividing the post-war era into periods of military development is a peculiarly Soviet way of looking at the historical development of military affairs. Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev will be wary of reviving the threat perception in the West, particularly when the currently stringent Cocom restrictions show promise of easing, thereby helping Gorbachev to close the technology gap. Gorbachev, in true Leninist fashion, holds that domestic needs must drive the course of Soviet foreign policy.
