1247V. Konyshev (konyshev06@mail.ru),
St Petersburg University, 7–9, Universitetskaya Emb., St Petersburg, 199034, Russian Federation;
R. Parfenov (parfyonovr@gmail.com),
Baltic Leasing, 22, lit. À, 10-th Krasnoarmeyskaya Str. St Petersburg, 190103, Russian Federation
Abstract. The article explores the concept of a hybrid war, which became especially popular in the aftermath of the Ukrainian crisis in 2014. Hybrid warfare implies combining of traditional and irregular methods of confrontation. Since the doctrine first appeared in the United States, the authors analyze the place of the concept of hybrid war in American doctrinal documents regulating the use of armed forces. From a military point of view, the hybrid war is not yet a substantive type of operations. A close understanding of hybrid warfare is demonstrated by the Russian military. At the same time, in the West, the poorly defined term “hybrid war” is actively used to define Russia’s operation in the Crimea in 2014. The authors show that the activity of the Russian military in the Crimea was not so “hybrid” to ensure by this attribute itself the success of the campaign. The deployment of large forces, large-scale maintenance of information operations and electronic warfare, organization and support of insurgent troops – all this turned out to be myths. From the Western point of view, the political use of the hybrid warfare concept is the most important one. It performs at least three functions. First, the West’s attention to the hybrid warfare concept can be explained by its aspiration to obscure the true reasons why Ukraine was unable to keep its grip over Crimea and finally lost it very quickly. In reality, Ukraine has lost Crimea not because of the Russian military and covert operation, but because the new Kiev nationalistic regime resulted from the February 2014 coup d’etat simply alienated the Russian population of Crimea by its Russophobic policies. Moreover, the Ukrainian armed forces and police units deployed to Crimea did not support the illegitimate regime in Kiev. Some of them preferred to join the Russian army, navy, special service and police. Secondly, the West often uses the hybrid warfare concept in a broader way trying to represent entire Russia’s foreign policy – not only the Crimean operation – as a perpetual hybrid warfare. Some Western countries believe that this will help to demonize Vladimir Putin’s regime and its international course. Third, by ascribing Moscow the hybrid warfare instincts the West, in fact, tries to masks its own inclination towards this kind of strategy. The U.S. and their NATO allies systematically demonstrate their willingness to organize “color revolutions” throughout the world, which are mostly based on the hybrid warfare technologies.
Keywords: warfare, hybrid war, military doctrine, irregular war, unconventional war, security threats
REFERENCES
1. Hoffman F. Conflict in the 21th Century: the Rise of Hybrid Wars. Available at: http://www.projectwhitehorse.com/pdfs/HybridWar_0108.pdf (accessed 10.06.2018).
2. Caryl C. If You Want to See Russian Information Warfare at its Worst, Visit These Countries. Available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/democracy-post/wp/2017/04/05/if-you-want-to-see-russian-information-warfare-at-itsworst-visit-these-countries/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.4b778df7877f (accessed 02.06.2018).
3. Statement on the Results of Meeting on the Highest Level in Warsaw, 9 July 2016, statement 72 (In Russ.) Available at: https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/official_texts_133169.htm?selectedLocale=ru (accessed 10.07.2018).
4. FM 3-05.301. Psychological Operations Process Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures. Washington, Department of the Army, 2007. Available at: https://info.publicintelligence.net/USArmy-PsyOpsTactics.pdf (accessed 01.05.2018).
5. FM 3-05.130. Army Special Operations Forces Unconventional Warfare, Washington, Department of the Army. Available at: https://fas.org/irp/doddir/army/fm3-05-130.pdf (accessed 01.05.2018).
6. Quadrennial Defense Review Report. Washington, Department of Defense, 2010. Available at: https://comw.org/qdr/fulltext/1002QDR2010.pdf (accessed 11.06.2018).
7. FM 3-0. Operations. Washington, Department of the Army, 2017. Available at: https://fas.org/irp/doddir/army/fm3-0.pdf (accessed 12.04.2018).
8. FM 3-12. Cyberspace and electronic warfare operations. Washington, Department of the Army, 2017. Available at: https://fas.org/irp/doddir/army/fm3-12.pdf (accessed 10.05.2018).
9. Irregular Warfare. Joint Operating Concept. Washington, Department of Defense, 2007. Available at: https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/policy/dod/iw-joc_v1_2007.pdf (accessed 22.06.2018).
10. Hybrid Warfare. Briefing to the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capabilities. Committee on Armed Services, House of Representatives. September 10, 2010. Available at: https://www.gao.gov/assets/100/97053.pdf (accessed 09.07.2018).
11. Konyshev V.N., Sergunin A.A. Sovremennaya voennaya strategiya [Modern Military Strategy]. Moscow, Aspect-Press, 2014. 272 p.
12. Vacca W., Davidson M. The Regularity of Irregular Warfare. Parameters, 2011, vol. 41, no. 1, pp. 18-34.
13. Liang Q., Xiangsui W. Unrestricted Warfare: China’s Master Plan to Destroy America. Panama City, Pan American Publishing Company, 2002. 227 p.
14. Arzumanyan R.V. Strategiya irregulyarnoi voiny: teoriya i praktika primeneniya [Irregular Warfare Strategy: Theory and Practices of Application]. Mikhailovskii A.B., ed. Moscow, Center for Strategic Estimations and Prognosis, 2014. 334 p.
15. Counter-Unconventional Warfare. White paper. Available at: https://info.publicintelligence.net/USASOC-CounterUnconventionalWarfare.pdf (accessed 09.07.2018).
16. Mescner E.E. Khochesh’ mira, pobedi myatezhevoinu! [If You Want Peace Win Myatezhevoinu!] Moscow, Voennyi universitet, Russkii put’, 2005. 696 p.
17. Konyshev V.N., Sergunin A.A. Diskussii o voinakh budushchego v rossiiskom ekspertno-analiticheskom soobshchestve: mify i real’nost’ [Discussions about Future Wars within Russian Expert Community]. Problemy natsional’noy strategii, 2013, no. 4, pp. 100-114.
18. Gerasimov V.V. Organizatsiya oborony Rossiiskoi Federatsii v usloviyakh primeneniya protivnikom “traditsionnykh” i “gibridnykh” metodov vedeniya voiny [Guideline to Defend Russian Federation in the Conditions of the Use “Traditional” and “Hybrid” Methods if Warfare]. Vestnik Akademii voyennyh nauk, 2016, no. 2(55), pp. 19-23.
19. Nikolaichuk I.A. O sushchnosti gibridnoi voiny v kontekste sovremennoi voenno-politicheskoi situatsii [About Essence of Hybrid War in the Context of modern military-political environment]. Problemy natsional’noy strategii, 2016, no. 3(36), pp. 85-104.
20. Bartosh A.A. “Trenie” i “iznos” gibridnoi voiny [“Friction” and “Wear” of the Hybrid War]. Voennaya mysl’, 2018, no. 1, pp. 5-13.
21. Gerasimov V.V. Tsennost’ nauki v predvidenii [The Worth of Science Consists in Prediction]. Voenno-promyshlennyi kur’er, 26.02.2013. Available at: https://www.vpk-news.ru/articles/14632 (accessed 04.07.2018).
22. Liddle-Hart B. Strategiya nepryamykh deistvii [Strategy: the Indirect Approach]. Moscow, Izd-vo inostrannoi literatury, 1957. 536 p.
23. Miles F. Asymmetric warfare: an historical perspective. Carlisle Barraks, U.S. Army War Colledge, 1999. 47 p.
24. Nye J. Gibkaya vlast’: kak dobit’sya uspekha v mirovoi politike [Soft Power: How to Success in World Politics]. Novosibirsk, Fond “Trendy”, 2006. 221 p.
25. Gerasimov V. Po opytu Sirii [Basing on Syria Experience]. Voenno-promyshlennyi kur’er, 07.03.2016. Available at: https://vpk-news.ru/articles/29579 (accessed 02.07.2018).
26. Pukhov R. Mif o ‘’gibridnoi voine’’ [Myth about Hibrid War]. Nezavisimoe voennoe obozrenie, 25.05.2015. Available at: http://nvo.ng.ru/realty/2015-05-29/1_war.html (accessed 02.07.2018).
27. Chivvis C. Understanding Russian “Hybrid Warfare” and what can be done about it. CT‑468. Testimony presented before the House Armed Services Committee on March 22, 2017. Available at: https://www.rand.org/pubs/testimonies/CT468.html (accessed 03.07.2018).
28. Special Forces from NATO States Worked off the “Threat of Hybrid War” in the Baltic Region (In Russ.) Available at: https://ru.sputnik-news.ee/estonian_news/20180609/11083063/Specnaz-NATO-uchenija-Baltija-estonia-Trojan-Footprint.html (accessed 01.07.2018).
29. Agreement between Russian Federation and Ukraine on Parameters of the Black Sea Fleet Redistribution, May 28, 1997 (In Russ.) Available at: http://docs.cntd.ru/document/1902222 (accessed 02.05.2018).
30. Shiryaev V. Vezhlivye lyudi v Krymu: kak eto bylo [Gentle Men in Crimea: How it Has Happened]. Novaya gazeta, 17.04.2014. Available at: https://www.novayagazeta.ru/articles/2014/04/17/59255-171-vezhlivye-lyudi‑187-v-krymu-kak-eto-bylo (accessed 22.06.2018).
31. Matias Disclosed the Number of Ukrainian Military who Stayed in Occupied Crimea (In Russ.) Available at: https://ru.tsn.ua/ukrayina/matios-obnarodoval-kolichestvo-ukrainskih-voennyh-kotorye-ostalis-v-okkupirovannom-krymu‑574354.html (accessed 22.06.2018).
32. Job of Russian Special Forces in Crimea in 2014 (In Russ.) Available at: http://www.militarycolumnist.ru/russian-special-forces-in-crimea/ (accessed 22.06.2018).
33. How Russia could seize Crimea without battle? (In Russ.) Available at: https://www.bbc.com/russian/russia/2015/03/150320_crimea_film_battle (accessed 22.06.2018).
34. The U.S. Don’t Know What is “on Putin’s Mind”: the Failure of American Intelligence in Crimea (In Russ.) Available at: https://regnum.ru/news/polit/1782397.html (accessed 22.06.2018).
35. Source: Ukrainian defense ministry reported to Turchinov about critical state of armed forces (In Russ.) Available at: https://vz.ru/news/2014/3/12/676774.html (accessed 22.06.2018).
36. German Mass-Media: in “Putin’s Red Army” Unbelievable Progress has Happened (In Russ.) Available at: https://vz.ru/news/2014/4/16/682387.html (accessed 22.06.2018).
Registered in System SCIENCE INDEX
No comments