War and Militarisation
Notes on Russian Domestic and Foreign Policy
Margarete Klein, Nils Holger Schreiber
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 is the result of a militarisation of foreign policy that has been evident since 2008. This was accompanied by a domestic militarisation process that has intensified greatly over the course of the year. Since the failure of the planned campaign for quick conquest, the entirety of Russian society has been geared towards war. Nonetheless, the country’s capability to make up for the army’s high losses remains limited. The failures in Ukraine to date not only reduce Russia’s ability to project power in other conflicts in the post-Soviet space and beyond. It also undermines the regime’s legitimacy. But this will not bring an end to the war against Ukraine. Rather, the survival of the regime depends on success in the war. It will use all means available to conventional and hybrid warfare to win.
(Osteuropa 11/2022, pp. 5–22)