Part Two: Russia’s Strategy: A Course Toward Multipolarity
Chapter V: Official Doctrines and Concepts
The National Security Concept of the Russian Federation,
or the Immediate Tasks of the Party and the Government
The National Security Concept of 200066 is a new edition of the national security concept approved by a Presidential Decree of December 17, 1997. I have already performed an analysis of the Concept-97.67 It is worthwhile doing the same with the 2000 edition.
Right away, I want to state that I don’t regard such documents as something that affects citizens’ lives or Russia’s place and role in the world. This concept, just as the Constitution of the Russian Federation, constitutes a declaration of intent not backed by any real capabilities of the state to realize them. A phrase contained therein appears to hint as much: The concept is a “system of views on the provision,” etc. “Viewing” can be done any way you like, especially because there are more than enough “viewers” in Russia. An analysis of this kind of document can be interesting only from the perspective of exposing the competence level of the people who formulate and shape the country’s political course. Sometimes it suffices for predicting the outcome of that course.
Just like the previous variant of the concept, the current one is not a concept of national security (CNS) but rather a compilation of assessments of all (or almost all) aspects of domestic and foreign policy, as well as instructions/demands about what needs to be done to have security triumph in a “kingdom” consisting of “person, society, and state.”
Like any nonworking document, it starts with empty phrases like “the national security of the Russian Federation is understood as the security of its multiethnic people as the subject of sovereignty and the sole source of authority in the Russian Federation.” This reference to “the people” is a standard cliché used by demagogues. In fact, this entire document is not any different from the CPSU documents of the “stagnant socialism” era titled “The Party’s immediate objectives in the area of domestic and foreign policy.” Therefore, let’s examine its content, preserving the structure of the “report.”
66 See the full text in Independent Military Review, Nezavisimaya gazeta, January 14, 2000.
67 See Oleg Arin, Russia on Roadside of the World (Moscow: Linor, 1999), 133-141.
The 21st Century: The World Without Russia
(Philosophical-sociological Essay)