ABSTRACT
The growth in Soviet military strength had exceeded the highest estimates made in the mid-1960s by US Government agencies. Soviet military leadership spoke with one voice repeating the doctrinal change that had occurred in the late 1960s. The possibility of escalation remained another dominant issue in Soviet military doctrine. Soviet theorists focused their greatest attention on the possibility of war beginning with only the use of conventional weapons, then widening to include the tactical use of nuclear weapons, and final escalation to general nuclear war. The policy of the Party leadership of the Armed Forces involved “creating conditions for the development and improvement of those systems of weapons on which the security of the USSR depends to the greatest degree.” Whether conventional or nuclear weapons were used, strategic actions would continue during the entire course of the war. The Armed Forces also had another role, which went beyond purely military matters.
