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Colonel David T. Twining and his colleagues look at the impact of glasnost and the collapse of the Soviet system on the military. The case study approach used allows for in-depth examination of a number of key issues. Within the former USSR, the remarkable record of sacrifice and valor by women in wartime has not been matched by equal opportunity during peacetime, where they are effectively excluded from meaningful military careers. The KGB, the world's largest security and intelligence organization, proved to be among the most resistant to reform, and this, the book contends, appears to have hastened its doom. The adoption of the rule of law was widely resisted in the Soviet armed forces, and reforms in military service have come from demands by parents and relatives that the military change its lethal ways. Soviet foreign military affairs have also been affected by glasnost. The volume looks at the influence of the war in Afghanistan in the reversal of Moscow's Middle East policy. Equally important, but unheralded, has been the re-establishment of ties with China.
Together, the essays in this collection illustrate the impact of a stressed political system struggling to adapt to changing circumstances, caught between the exigencies of reform and revolt. Students and scholars involved in Soviet studies as well as contemporary military studies will find much to ponder.
List of contents
Introduction by David T. Twining
The Dalger Phenomenon: The Declining Ability of Leaders and Governments to Effectively Rule by David T. Twining
The Role of Women in the Soviet Armed Forces: Past, Present and Future by Tina DiGuglielmo
The KGB's Uncertain Future by Arty J. Franzello
Legal and Social Protection for Soviet Servicemen: A Reality or Mere Declaration? by Michael J. Nardotti, Jr.
Red Star Deflected: Regional Perspectives of Soviet Involvement in the Middle East by Edward O. Walsh
Sino-Soviet Military Rapproachment by Donald C. Lewis
Conclusion by David T. Twining
Selected Bibliography
Index
About the author
DAVID T. TWINING is Director of Eurasian and Commonwealth States, U.S. Army War College. Among his earlier publications are
Strategic Surprise in the Age of Glasnost (1992) and
Beyond Glasnost: Soviet Reform and Security Issues (Greenwood Press, 1992).
