A good former colleague sent a link to an article in the Finnish newspaper "Ilta-Sanomat" about Russian military thought. It discussed a work published years ago by retired General Aleksandr Vladimirov, "Foundations of the General Theory of War". According to the piece, a number of later developments had already been foreseen there, but the West allegedly paid no attention. This sparked my interest, and I browsed a few web pages.

Vladimirov's work was originally published in 2013 and revised in 2018. It is truly a mammoth volume — over 2,800 pages — issued in two or three volumes depending on the edition, and weighing around three kilograms. It's no wonder that few have been eager to read and analyze it.

Because I have the bad habit of physically reading books rather than relying on summaries, I checked its availability. Fortunately, it was sold out in several places, and a few copies were available only in Russia and for rubles. "Fortunately," because otherwise my reading time would likely have been taken up for quite a while.

However, I did find a collection of quotations from the book, as well as a short course in strategic literacy compiled by Vladimirov in 2022 for Russia's senior and mid-level leadership. These seemed to cover essentially the entire content of the book. In addition, I came across a 2024 presentation by Vladimirov on the Eurasian security system.

The fact that reading the original proved impossible was likely beneficial for my mental health, because even the shorter versions can be difficult at times. In Russia, the work is highly regarded and in 2020 was even named book of the year in the field of science.

Vladimirov's work certainly has influence; moreover, it has been recommended as study material for senior government officials, higher education institutions, and military leaders. It is worth noting right away, judging from the introduction, that this is a figure who, like Vladimir Putin, longs for the Soviet Union. Nevertheless, Vladimirov's theses — which are likely followed to some extent within the framework of Russian military and state thinking — are worth introducing, as they may help better understand the eastern neighbor.

According to Vladimirov, the main mechanism of human development and the formation of history is violence, which is prepared in peacetime and used in warfare. In its highest form — the war of civilizations — it becomes a struggle over meanings, with the primary goal being the conquest of the future.

War, he argues, is eternal and continuous, and always hybrid in nature. All organized acts of violence — such as local armed conflicts, the direction of human masses into migration, color revolutions, terrorist acts and genocide, economic and financial crises, information warfare and cyberattacks, as well as struggles for tolerance, free democratic elections, and minority rights — are all episodes of war.

Looking at Russia's ongoing hybrid war against Europe, Moscow has clearly embraced the thesis of continuous hybrid warfare. According to Vladimirov, there are no ugly or forbidden methods in war — only effective and ineffective ones. This can serve as justification for the brutality of Russian forces and their disregard for international norms and rules of warfare. The idea that victory goes to those who value their own blood and life less may underlie Russia's disregard for the lives of its soldiers and the mass "meat assaults" on the front.

Vladimirov's principles also reflect a broader Russian view of society. He writes that the state does not exist to turn earthly life into paradise, but to prevent it from becoming hell. The state must be built on national historical values and on the duties of the state, society, and the individual — not on their rights. The guiding principle should be that power is more important than property, and service more important than possession.

People must be prepared from childhood for continuous war and for prioritizing state interests over personal ones. War is seen as the defining condition, form, and environment of a nation's existence, as well as a way of governing the state. Accordingly, governance through decrees and directives is necessary, along with restrictions on consumption, civil rights, and freedoms, and full control and censorship of the information sphere and social media — things that are already routine in Russia today.

All this must take into account Russia's uniqueness. Russia is portrayed as a special "civilization of life," differing from the West, which is based on competition and greed and thus represents a "civilization of death." Russia's historical mission is to create a new global geopolitical order under its leadership as an example for all peoples.

War always ends with the victory of one side, and compromises are impossible in war — they can occur only in conflicts. The victor shapes the postwar world, writes the new history, and codifies its victory in international and domestic law in line with the rights of the winner. The victor also dictates to the defeated the terms of the world order, takes control of all their resources, and, most importantly, changes the mentality of the defeated people to subordinate it to the victor's will.

At the same time, it is important to understand that victory is always temporary, whereas Russian national strategy must operate with eternity. Victory in war is necessary for Russia to build a vision of the future akin to a "kingdom of God." In warfare, Vladimirov considers the creation of migration flows — massive, managed yet ultimately uncontrollable migration — to be especially important. Migration, he says, alters the nature and identity of a host civilization, destroying its culture and way of life in its historical homeland. This also explains Russia's attempts to support or orchestrate refugee flows into Europe.

Russia is currently in a condition where it must follow a simple principle: if there is a chance to win, it must fight; if there is no chance, it must still find a way to win. If you want peace, fight until victory. According to this view, a new "axial age" has arrived — a time when Russia, as the civilization of Life, enters into direct struggle with global evil, the West. Russia is now allegedly fighting for its existence, and this period may last for decades. That, it seems, is also how Putin's circle thinks.

Further reading

• Владимиров А. И. ОСНОВЫ ОБЩЕЙ ТЕОРИИ ВОЙНЫ. Монография, в 2-х частях - М.: 2012.
• Генерал Владимиров: Основы общей теории войны
• Sim_pobedishi_Vladimirov.pdf
• Доклад "Евразийская система безопасности: базовые подходы". Генерал Александр Владимиров
• Скрижали. Избранные цитаты из монографии генерал-майора А.И.Владимирова "Основы общей теории войны"
• Venäjällä julkaistiin kaikessa hiljaisuudessa kirja, jonka visiot kylmäävät: "Kauhuksemme huomasimme, ettei lännessä ollut juurikaan luettu sitä" - Ilta-Sanomat

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and X and never miss an update!