ABSTRACT
This chapter is devoted to the conceptual component of fighting power – the military doctrines and thought processes behind preparing the personnel for the warfighting and the structuring of the armed forces. The first part of the chapter explains Soviet strategic thinking on warfighting and various features of Soviet strategic and organisational culture. The main ideas and trends in military doctrines of the time are discussed. Some key concepts, like the supremacy of offensive, deep operations, surprise and deception, are explained. Furthermore, the common Soviet past of both Russia and Ukraine is discussed, with an analysis of the different extent of Soviet thinking and doctrine present in the military thinking of the two countries. The place of military doctrine in the post-Cold War military reorganisation is also discussed here. The second part addresses the post-Cold War conceptualisation of the role of the military in the two countries, their restructuring in the post-Soviet recovery and the place of doctrine in these reforms. Third, the national defence and warfighting approaches of the two countries before February 2022 are explored through their recent doctrines and strategy documents.
