Harri Tiido: On a mammoth work of Russian military thought

This time, the background discussions focus on Aleksandr Vladimirov's "Foundations of the General Theory of War". In military activity, Vladimirov considers the creation of migration flows — that is, the triggering of mass, managed yet at the same time uncontrollable migration — to be important, notes Harri Tiido.

A good former colleague sent a link to an article in the Finnish newspaper "Ilta-Sanomat" about Russian military thought. It discussed a work published years ago by retired General Aleksandr Vladimirov, "Foundations of the General Theory of War". According to the piece, a number of later developments had already been foreseen there, but the West allegedly paid no attention. This sparked my interest, and I browsed a few web pages.

Vladimirov's work was originally published in 2013 and revised in 2018. It is truly a mammoth volume — over 2,800 pages — issued in two or three volumes depending on the edition, and weighing around three kilograms. It's no wonder that few have been eager to read and analyze it.

Because I have the bad habit of physically reading books rather than relying on summaries, I checked its availability. Fortunately, it was sold out in several places, and a few copies were available only in Russia and for rubles. "Fortunately," because otherwise my reading time would likely have been taken up for quite a while.

However, I did find a collection of quotations from the book, as well as a short course in strategic literacy compiled by Vladimirov in 2022 for Russia's senior and mid-level leadership. These seemed to cover essentially the entire content of the book. In addition, I came across a 2024 presentation by Vladimirov on the Eurasian security system.

The fact that reading the original proved impossible was likely beneficial for my mental health, because even the shorter versions can be difficult at times. In Russia, the work is highly regarded and in 2020 was even named book of the year in the field of science.

Vladimirov's work certainly has influence; moreover, it has been recommended as study material for senior government officials, higher education institutions, and military leaders. It is worth noting right away, judging from the introduction, that this is a figure who, like Vladimir Putin, longs for the Soviet Union. Nevertheless, Vladimirov's theses — which are likely followed to some extent within the framework of Russian military and state thinking — are worth introducing, as they may help better understand the eastern neighbor.

According to Vladimirov, the main mechanism of human development and the formation