Inside the Soviet Army
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Inside The Soviet Army (ISBN 0-241-10889-6; Hamish Hamilton, 1982; also published in the United States, Prentice Hall, ISBN 0-02-615500-1), a book by Viktor Suvorov, describes the general organisation, doctrine, and strategy of the Soviet armed forces (the term “Army” being used to cover not only the Land Forces, but also Strategic Rocket, Air Defence, Air, and Naval forces).
Suvorov starts by explaining the political realities of the USSR, where all is subordinated to the requirement to maintain the dominance of the Communist regime, and hence the rationale behind Soviet strategic planning. He then takes the reader through the organisation of the Soviet armed forces from the top down, with particular emphasis on the Land Forces. Technical details are not omitted where useful, but his primary concern is to explain the underlying philosophy and culture, often by contrast with the Western approach. Finally, he closes with descriptions of daily life in the Soviet Army for both soldier and officer, including the bullying ("dedovshchina"), which was almost unknown in the West at the time of publication, but which has become notorious in the post-Soviet Russian Army.
