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Soviet Union [USSR] GLOBAL STRATEGIC CONCERNS
Since the late 1960s, when the Soviet Union was about to
achieve nuclear parity with the United States, Soviet military
support for the global task of promoting Marxism-Leninism
intensified. Hoping that the attainment of strategic parity with
the United States would deter the latter from interfering with
Soviet international activism, the Soviet Union set out to aid and
abet the forces of socialism and "national liberation" worldwide.
Soviet doctrine called not only for nuclear and nonnuclear
capabilities to fight a world war but also for adequate
conventional forces to support the "external function" of the
Soviet armed forces in defense of "socialist gains" and of the
fighters for world revolution. Two components of the
"internationalist duty" of the Soviet armed forces emerged:
"socialist internationalism," the defense of socialist countries
allied to the Soviet Union; and "proletarian internationalism," the
assistance given to "wars of national liberation" in the Third
World.
Soviet spokesmen have emphasized repeatedly that the Soviet
Union does not believe in the "export of revolution" but opposes
the export of "counterrevolution," i.e., actions by Western powers
that would hinder the historic progress of socialism. In the l970s,
combating "counterrevolution" became part of the "internationalist
duty" of the Soviet armed forces.
The Soviet Union has attempted, not always successfully, to
reconcile Marxist-Leninist doctrine with state interests. Soviet
leaders have tried to satisfy doctrinal requirements while pursuing
the military and foreign policies of the Soviet state. Projected
worldwide, Marxism-Leninism evolved from a purely revolutionary
ideology into an ideology rationalizing the actions of a
superpower. Often state interests were a more reliable guide than
ideology to understanding Soviet actions.
Data as of May 1989
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