Description
This paper assesses the Russian Federation’s military space strategy from 1991-2023 through the five official Military Doctrines of the Russian Federation, other official political and military documents and comments, articles from the General Staff of the Armed Forces’ journal Voennaya Mysl (Military Thought), and Russian space activities to assess how Russian military thinking has evolved, as well as areas where it has kept Soviet thinking and programs intact. The paper organizes development into four periods; the 1990s-2008, 2008-2014, 2014-2022, and 2022-2023. The first section focuses on lessons learned from the Gulf War, the two Chechen Wars, NATO action in Yugoslavia, and the 2008 Georgian War. The second section focuses on reforms and renewal, in reference to the 2008 military reform and the renewal of anti-satellite testing by China and the United States. The third section focuses on modern war, specifically the Russian military’s activities in Ukraine and Syria during this time. Lastly, the fourth section focuses on the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and what can so far be assessed about how Russia has, or has not, utilized its military space capabilities in the war. The paper illustrates how Russian thinking on the military use of space has evolved and reacted to external and internal influences.
