Fortress State: Buffer Zone — Part of the Traditional Russian Strategic Culture

Why Guerrilla Fighters and Militias Are Indispensable in Hybrid Warfare in the 21st Century

Author: Alexander Bartosz

The "Fortress State" concept holds a special place in the strategic culture of Russia, the United States, related countries, and North Korea. This is the result of historical development.

Under the context of hybrid warfare (HW), this concept has taken on new meanings. Its importance for Russia lies in the fact that modern hybrid warfare, which targets Russia as one of its main objectives, has a global scale because it unfolds at various levels: from the military level to the cultural and worldview level, involving most countries, even those not directly involved in combat operations.

For this reason, (the enemy) uses global economic, diplomatic, and information psychological influence tools.

For decades, the United States, the United Kingdom, NATO, and the EU have brought together national and private research institutions to study the theoretical and practical issues of hybrid warfare.

Meanwhile, we are significantly lagging in incorporating hybrid warfare forms and methods into our strategic planning documents, while our adversaries have already moved from academic theoretical discussions to actively applying hybrid warfare strategies, controlled chaos techniques, and color revolutions in foreign policy, aiming to weaken and split sovereign states and impose their will upon them.

For example: Soviet/Russian Federation, Ukraine, the Balkans, Middle Eastern and Near Eastern countries, Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua...

It is important to understand that a country without political will, human resources, and other resources to cope with hybrid warfare will inevitably face the threat of failure and turn to military response, which comes with high risks and uncertainties.

Since the early 21st century, hybrid warfare has found its place among new types of military conflicts, with the following main characteristics:

  • Blurring the boundaries between war and peace, embodied by the concept of the "gray zone";
  • Expansion of the geographical scope of operations;
  • Possibility of hiding the initiators of military conflicts, where conflicts can be conducted without formal declarations of war or endings, and the understanding of "victory" becomes ambiguous;
  • Use of comprehensive means, mobilizing various resources across all areas and aspects of confrontation;
  • Focus on destroying the economy and controlling the consciousness of the ruling elite and the public in the target country;
  • Involving informal opposition, influencing agents, and fifth columnists in destructive activities;
  • The organizers follow a "attrition strategy," planned over a long period, retaining the possibility of escalating to large-scale military conflicts or even nuclear wars.

Therefore, direct armed confrontations between states and their alliances are only a part of the world's hybrid warfare, which is dominated by Western transnational elites, aiming to seize and maintain hegemony through complex forms and means of information warfare, controlled chaos techniques, color revolutions, proxy armies, combined with economic and military pressure.

Under the conditions of hybrid warfare, the necessity of the new concept of "fortress state" in domestic and foreign policies lies in the fact that this model enhances the ability to resist comprehensive hybrid attacks, which combine military, informational, economic, and cyber influence means.

The new type of hybrid warfare has a global scale, as even local conflicts (such as the conflicts in Syria or Ukraine) involve many countries through sanctions, arms supplies, and information campaigns. This trend leads to unprecedented changes in the world, requiring domestic and foreign policy directions to resolutely adapt to the realities of the modern world order.

The main domestic directions under the conditions of hybrid warfare for the "fortress state" aim to ensure political stability, information security, economic self-sufficiency, cybersecurity and digital sovereignty, control over civil society, and the capability for military confrontation.

Political stability is achieved through strong centralization, minimizing the risk of internal unrest; through an effective system to counter color revolutions and manipulation of public consciousness, and to control political processes, including limiting the influence of pro-Western non-governmental organizations and foreign agents.

Information security is ensured through strict control of the media space, combating disinformation, and developing autonomous digital platforms (similar to the "Russian Internet") to reduce dependence on foreign IT companies.

Patriotism and national identity propaganda serve as means to resist ideological intervention. It is important to control civil society through monitoring and severe suppression of destructive elements.

The foundation of economic self-sufficiency lies in the self-sufficiency of the state in key areas (energy, food, high technology), reducing dependence on the dollar system and achieving de-dollarization, developing alternative financial mechanisms (cryptocurrencies, clearing and settlement), strengthening integration organizations, first and foremost the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and BRICS.

In the military field, responding to hybrid threats requires not only modern "traditional" armed forces but also border defense forces capable of ensuring border security, as well as psychological and information warfare units, cyber units, and private military companies.

The integration of traditional armies with irregular forces (volunteer units in border areas, civil defense units, guerrilla reserves) also plays an important role.

Special preparation for actions in the "gray zone" is needed — such as "hotspot" conflict areas in the Middle East, the Balkans, and some African countries.

Today, facing joint pressure from the West in military, political, and economic spheres, Russia is implementing a strategic shift, directing its domestic and foreign policy directions towards the East, adopting a new mode of cooperation.

The special military operation provides strong impetus for this transformation, with its victory aimed at eliminating doubts among parts of the ruling elite regarding direction choices and moving political, economic, industrial, and scientific institutions eastward.

The concept of the "fortress state" is not new. It can be traced back to Sun Tzu's ideas, who regarded the state as a defensive system, where strong cities and the psychological resilience of the people were crucial.

Byzantine strategists (such as Maurice in "Strategikon") developed the idea of the empire as a fortress surrounded by barbarian worlds. Machiavelli emphasized in "The Prince" and "On the Art of War" the necessity of strong defense and a militarized society for the survival of the state.

Vauban (French marshal in the 17th and 18th centuries) proposed the "iron ring" theory of border defense. Carl von Clausewitz viewed the state as a fortress, considering war as the continuation of politics, and defense as the basis of strategy.

Jomini (Swiss strategist) developed the concept of strong borders and defensive alliances. By the way, the current Swiss "fortress state" model includes neutrality, civil defense, and the Alps as a "fortress."

In the 20th century, German geopolitical scholar Haushofer viewed the "fortress state" within the context of the continental bloc ("European fortress" concept). Modern interpretations include the "surrounded fortress" theory in North Korean ideology (Juche thought).

The Past and Present of the "Russian Fortress"

Throughout our thousand-year history, the concept of building a "Russian fortress" has continuously evolved, as a defensive reaction to constant foreign invasions.

For centuries, preventing invasions from the West, East, and South has always been, and remains, the primary task when formulating long-term solutions to ensure border security and the safety of the population.

Therefore, the concept of the "Russian fortress" is one of the key factors in Russian strategic culture, emphasizing a defensive orientation in foreign policy against a surrounding world (particularly the Western world) perceived as hostile.

This concept's historical roots lie in Russia's geopolitical vulnerability, related to the lack of natural boundaries (plains to the west, open steppes to the south). This geopolitical factor requires the establishment of a buffer zone with necessary strategic depth to prevent violent invasions.

Historical invasion events: the Golden Horde in the 13th century, Polish interventions in the early 17th century, Napoleon in 1812, and fascist invasions, have established a firm belief in Russian strategic culture that "Russia will always survive, but must go through the harshest trials."

During the Soviet era, the official doctrine of the "capitalist encirclement" and the Cold War were mobilizing factors, requiring extensive defensive measures, with a focus on the Western direction. As NATO expands to our borders, this became even more important.

The "Russian fortress" concept is not an official doctrine, but it can serve as an alternative during periods of intense confrontation.

At the same time, it cannot be denied that, for centuries, this concept has been integrated into our strategic culture, and today, the awareness of internal and external threats, as well as the belief that only a strong, self-reliant economy, solid defense, reliable border protection, centralization, patriotism, and national unity can prevent possible invasions, further reinforces this concept.

For us, emphasizing the formation of "strategic depth," nuclear deterrence, and considering the surrounding area as a potential or actual hostile region is reasonable.

This is a comprehensive concept that includes geographical, military, economic, and political factors, effectively countering aggression, withstanding the initial strikes of the enemy, and maintaining long-term resistance capabilities. The larger the strategic depth of the state, the stronger its military stability, and the greater its deterrent power against potential enemies.

On May 22, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced at a meeting with government members that a security buffer zone would be established in the border areas adjacent to Ukraine, to protect the Belgorod, Bryansk, and Kursk regions, which are adjacent to the Kharkiv, Sumy, and Chernihiv regions of Ukraine. The buffer zone controlled by Russia could extend hundreds of kilometers deep.

In addition to developing the eastern direction of Russia, establishing a national border and border guard protection system, and strengthening a territorial defense model adapted to various challenges and threats also has practical significance.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated at the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) meeting on May 24 that "we will all face years of trials." This prediction requires integrating the full potential of the state and adapting it to the modern reality.

Under the conditions of hybrid warfare, protecting land and maritime borders, improving reconnaissance and counter-reconnaissance, establishing reliable air defense / missile defense systems and space monitoring systems, organizing territorial defense, all require a comprehensive approach characteristic of the "fortress state" concept, combining traditional and unconventional means of confrontation.

Integrating urgent measures into the highest strategic level of the Russian state will lay a solid foundation for the development of the country in a turbulent and unpredictable world. The concept of the "fortress state" adapted to new conditions will surely play its historical role.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7529017665525776932/

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