Russian Strategic Decision Making: Military Leadership

This topic focuses on identifying trends and changes in Russian military leadership, including any emerging military elite. What are the implications of trends in senior officer promotions and postings? Are promotions and posting informed by competency, obedience to orders, or patronage networks? Based on these findings, what may the future military leadership look like? What is the impact to the General Staff?

• Gaxiola, Kaitlin S. Stark, "Russian Military Ethics: Their Impact on Russian Leadership Decision-Making and Why it Matters to the United States," SAASS thesis, 2025, 46 pgs.
  • Answers this by arguing that Russian military leadership is defined by systemic corruption, intimidation, and a complete absence of formal ethics training. She explains that officers embezzle military funds intended for troops' body armor and rations, which trickles down to create an undisciplined and unethical force. Furthermore, because the Russian military lacks a professional Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) corps to enforce standards and mentor younger personnel, leadership failures and poor decision-making directly contribute to unpunished war crimes and a blatant disregard for international law during combat operations in Ukraine.
• Nesselhuf, Maj. F. Jon, "Up to Kalibr: Why Failure in Ukraine Will Not Change the Russian Aerospace Defense Force," ACSC paper (Russia Research Task Force), 2024, 20 pgs. 
• Wiswesser, Sean M., "The Failure of Russian Airpower in the Ukraine War: Potemkin on the Dnieper," AWC Kenny Airpower Seminar Paper (2023), subsequently published as Chapter 16 in John A. Nagl and Katie Crombie, ed. A Call to Action: Lessons from Ukraine for the Future Force (Carlisle: SSI, 2024).