the development of russian military policy and finland

40 · The Development of Russian Military Policy and Finland
Soviet-era hardware and bolster deterrence with a balanced set of modern conventional,
asymmetric, and nuclear capabilities. However, funding, bureaucratic, and cultural hurdles—coupled
with the challenge of reinvigorating a military industrial base that deteriorated
for more than a decade after the Soviet collapse—will complicate Russian efforts.
[...]
The reform and modernization programs will yield improvements that will allow the Russian
military to more rapidly defeat its smaller neighbors and remain the dominant military
force in the post-Soviet space, but will not—and are not intended to—enable Moscow
to conduct sustained offensive operations against NATO collectively. In addition, the
steep decline in conventional capabilities since the collapse of the Soviet Union has compelled
Moscow to invest significant capital to modernize its conventional forces. At least
until Russia’s high precision conventional arms achieve practical operational utility, Moscow
will embrace nuclear deterrence as the focal point of its defense planning, and it still
views its nuclear forces as critical for ensuring Russian sovereignty and relevance on the
world stage, and for offsetting its military weaknesses vis-à-vis potential opponents with
stronger militaries. 164
164 Clapper, 31 January 2012.