The wind of the East

(To Adriano Tocchi)
03/06/16

The moral and material decline that marked Russian society in the first decade following the collapse of the Soviet empire represented an objective picture, variously underlined by world opinion: mafia, corruption, prostitution, liberalism without control were its characterizing elements. This disaster did not spare the armed forces that, abandoned to themselves, also suffered the same same process of spiritual decay, with loss of motivation and obvious shortcomings in terms of organization, updating and armaments. Effect of this involution can be considered the Russian failure reported in the first Chechen war. This until the 2000, when the inertia and the precarious stability that characterized the ruins of the empire and of which Yeltsin had been the last epigone, are replaced by the turning point promoted by Putin, a traditionalist president who believes in the values ​​of the Holy Mother Russia.

On the basis of these principles, Putin starts a process of renewal in which a new "Military Doctrine of Russia" is given priority with an impressive rearmament program, thanks to which the Russian FFAAs are relocated to the center of attention of the country.  

Another consequence of the "dissolution" of the USSR and the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact was the failure of the safety belt that separated Russia from the West with a progressive "occupation" by NATO of all the nations of Eastern Europe in the past, satellites and the bulwark of Moscow. Today all those peoples, having renounced their own identity, cultivate the American dream, they refer to their European political-administrative pseudopods, by now reduced to a state of unconscious subjection and political dependence.

While these geopolitical changes were taking place in Eastern Europe, in the West the stars and stripes empire developed and strengthened the proven system of vassalage and control of the EU, through figures such as Francois Hollande and Angela Merkel, without neglecting to support , more or less openly, the Chechen Islamic fundamentalists or the loyalist extremists who fight against the Russians in Ukraine. The course of action, the leitmotiv, is to demonize and where possible shoot on everything that is Russian or pro-Russian, establishing a political-diplomatic situation but also military, perhaps more difficult than the one that the less young people breathed during the Cold War.  

From a military point of view, in Eastern Europe, NATO has deployed a certain amount of rapid intervention forces and mechanized divisions as well as implemented the deployment of an anti-missile network. All this could not leave Russia indifferent, which is following with great attention this complex of US / NATO military activities but above all the process of radical subjugation of the European West to the USA. The transformation of its "former colonies" into US "colonies" probably agitates the Kremlin even more than the loss of the same.

Russian analysts and political scientists are well aware of the decline in US power and that of the dollar which, in a more or less short time, will lose its role as primary reserve and exchange currency on the planet. This condition will oblige the USA to seek new international dynamics, for example, to give new life, in a concrete and evident way, to the apparently dormant Cold War and, where necessary, to a new great planetary crisis. The scenario represented by a divided West, weak and unable to protect its own interests and by a subjugated and servile Eastern European (former Soviet) appears very favorable as a potential "battleground", because it is far from the soil and the direct interests of the USA , but at the gates of Russia.

And the Russians?

"... with irreconcilable enemies it is better to prepare for the defensive war and then go out with all the vigor to the offensive " (Bartolomeo di S. Francesco, 1710)

The Russians, well aware of the dangers and risks of a conventional challenge from the West and those of a possible large-scale conflict, are taking natural countermeasures to face such threats. Especially as regards the prospect of a large-scale conflict, the Russians have made it clear and unequivocal that the US will not be able to start such an adventure thinking, as in the past, that American soil can remain extraneous to the conflict and immune from attacks. The Russian effort is vast and complex, covering almost entirely every aspect of military planning.

Until the beginning of last year there were no concrete elements such as to suggest a real threat from the West and, therefore, Russia had deployed a military force in the Western Military District quantifiable in a few brigades. Since then things have changed dramatically and Russia has readily adapted to this new situation. The deployment of the. Has been officially announced on this front First Armored Guard which includes the fourth armored guard “Kantemirov”, the second guard of motorized riflemen “Taman”, the sixth armored brigade, the twenty-seventh motorized guard of fusiliers “Sevastopol brigade” and a considerable number of support units. There First Armored Guard it is currently equipped with T72B3 and T-80 tanks which will be replaced with the brand new T-14 Armata. Air coverage is ensured by Ka-52 and Mi-28 attack helicopters.

The new tactical missile system Iskander-M it must be considered the Russian response to the penetration of the US / NATO anti-missile system in Eastern Europe and could be used against units and equipment that NATO has already deployed in the eastern regions of the continent.

Nor the First Armored Guard, nor the system Iskander-M may pose a threat to the US territory. But Russia needed a weapon that, in the deplorable case of a large-scale conflict, could actually lead the war to American territory. This was ensured by the RS-28 "Sarmat" (SS-x-30 according to the NATO classification), able to carry 10-15 MIRV warheads which are released in a suborbital trajectory, remaining manoeuvrable even at hypersonic speeds.

As for the Russian Navy, of the Status 6 it has already been dealt with on these same pages, it remains only to underline how it is a system that, given the speed and scope, is practically invulnerable and not localizable.

In conclusion, the Russians, of course, are also scared of war and willing to deviate from their path to avoid it but, if necessary, they are ready to face it. In recent centuries, many European armies have challenged the Russian one and in this path they have encountered nightmare scenarios.

There is a substantial difference between the way Russians view war and Westerners. In the West, war is a prolongation of political logic and has an ethical and moral connotation. For the Russians the war was almost always a fierce struggle for survival needs.

That's why the Russians say "Russia does not start wars, it just concludes".

(Adriano Tocchi, president of ANPd'I Rome)

(photo: TASS)