ABSTRACT
An important problem for analysts of Soviet nuclear weapons policy is the existence of contradictions between two important sources on Soviet strategic intent: writings emanating from the military and the publications and statements of representatives of the social science institutes of the Soviet Academy of Sciences. Until recently, these two sources of material differed on a number of important politico-military issues, and perhaps the greatest difference appears in discussions of nuclear weapons: under what conditions they would be employed, how they would be used, and what would constitute a meaningful “victory”. Over the past decade these differences have lessened, but enough remains to trouble many analysts working with both sources.
