The updated military doctrine of Russia, which is to be adopted before the end of 2014, will focus on non-nuclear deterrence of an unnamed potential enemy. Why is it necessary to update the doctrine at this particular moment? Pravda.Ru asked an expert opinion from Vice President of the Russian Academy of Geopolitical Problems, Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science, Vladimir Anokhin.
"The nature of war has been changing, and the doctrine must be able to flexibly respond to the changes that occur in the world. If we pin hopes on only nuclear weapons, it will create an image of an aggressor for Russia as the country that will be able to use nuclear weapons first. If we include the possibility of a non-nuclear response in our doctrine, it will mean that we will be able to deliver a powerful non-nuclear blow in response, and no one knows what kind of weapons exactly could be used at that. This is the absolutely right thing to do," said Anokhin.