The Russian Way of Deterrence: Strategic Culture, Coercion, and War

Speaker: Professor Dmitry (Dima) Adamsky (School of Government, Diplomacy and Strategy at Reichman University)

Date: 23 January 2024

Speaker Session Summary

Russia entered the war in Ukraine with a strategic approach to deterrence, intending to: 1) deter direct involvement by adversaries, 2) paralyze NATO’s assertiveness in the region, and 3) secure the surrender of Kiev. Dr. Adamsky suggests that Russia has experienced mixed results in achieving these objectives. He discusses the deterrence balance that Russia seeks to strike, how it is trying to reconstruct certain facets of its deterrence, and the implications of a weakening nuclear taboo in Russian civil dialogue, all of which he expands on in his book, The Russian Way of Deterrence.

Russia and the US have different approaches to deterrence and distinct strategic cultures. Even the literal definitions of words and terms in the English and Russian lexicon illuminates differences in how the two countries think about deterrence. According to Dr. Adamsky, Russia views deterrence in a very holistic manner, considering it as an umbrella term for coercion, deterrence, and compellence. Moreover, unlike the US, Russia does not make a distinction between wartime and peacetime deterrence. 

While certain aspects of the Ukraine war have been a failure for Russia, the war has given Russian strategic command an opportunity to modernize and reexamine how it conducts deterrence, including the three branches that comprise Russia’s nuclear triad. For instance, Russian strategic command is discussing the formation of a singular organization that will orchestrate the integration of nuclear deterrence across all combatant commands. Dr. Adamsky also highlights a troubling pattern in Russian society: the deterioration of the nuclear taboo in Russian media and civil dialogue. The discussion of the acceptable use of nuclear weapons, even as a first strike, could lead to nuclear escalation in the future. 

Speaker Session Recording

Briefing Materials

Book: The Russian Way of Deterrence.

Biography: Dmitry (Dima) Adamsky is a Full Professor at the School of Government, Diplomacy and Strategy at Reichman University and the Head of the BA Honors Track in Strategic Studies. Prior to joining the school, he has worked at Harvard and Columbia Universities. Prof. Adamsky has published extensively on military innovations, strategic culture, nuclear strategy and the US, Russian and Israeli national security in the academic and policy journals – Foreign Affairs, Journal of Strategic Studies, Security Studies, Survival, IFRI, Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, Russian Analytical Digest, Intelligence and National Security, Defense and Security Studies, Washington Quarterly, Problems of Post-Communism, and Cold War History. His books Operation Kavkaz and The Culture of Military Innovation (Stanford UP) earned the annual (2006 and 2012) prizes for the best academic works on Israeli security. His book Russian Nuclear Orthodoxy won the 2020 International Studies Association best book award in the category of religion and international relations. His forthcoming books are The Russian Way of Deterrence: Strategic Culture, Coercion and War (Stanford UP, 2023) and The New Commissars: Militarization of Politics and Politization of Military in Russia (Cambridge UP, 2024).  Prior to academic career, in his positions in the Israeli Ministry of Defense and the IDF, Prof. Adamsky has carried out intelligence analysis and strategic policy planning. In the latter capacity, he served as an assistant secretary of the committee charged with formulating Israel’s national security concept.