SCEEUS Guest Report No. 5
Introduction
In May 2025, the Stockholm Center for Eastern European Studies (SCEEUS) at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs gathered a group of leading specialists and researchers focusing on various dimensions of Russian security and military affairs. The conference, “The Future Russian Way of War,” was organized around four broad themes: 1) state mobilization; 2) hybrid tools; 3) military reform; and 4) nuclear deterrence.
Part 3: Military Reform
This is the third installment to be published from the conference, centered around its third theme, military reform. It contains three papers. The first paper, by Aleksandr Golts, an analyst with the Stockholm Center for Eastern European Studies at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs, deals with the failure of Russia’s armed forces to modernize as a result of combat experience. Instead, he argues, the Kremlin has reverted to a traditional Soviet model for running the armed forces—albeit in a modified form.
The second paper, by Samuel Bendett, a researcher with the Center for Naval Analyses (CNA), examines the role of Russian civil society in assisting the Russian military. He describes how civil society and non-state initiatives have played an important role in the delivery of crucial supplies – including tactical drones, vehicles, and medical equipment. However, there are also clear limits to how far this support may extend.
The last paper, by Konrad Muzyka, an independent defense analyst at Rochan Consulting, discusses how the war with Ukraine has given Russia a stark choice: either the country will learn from its operational failures and adapt its force structure and doctrine accordingly, or it will become ever more entrenched in outdated models characterized by political inertia and reluctance to change.
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About the Authors
