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** During arms exhibitions in the 1990s, the Russians loved to show off the T-80U's...acrobatics by driving them off dirt mounds and firing the gun in midair.
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* At least for special formations like forward detachments and operational maneuver groups, flexibility was key to success due to the nature of their tasks. Predictability is debatable, but the "rigid" calculations that Soviet commanders utilize is indended for use as a base to work off of rather than rules to be followed slavishly.
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* Control was centralized, but battle management was decentralized, as the Soviets well knew that rigid management during fighting was near impossible to achieve.
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-->--'''"Viktor Suvorov"''', Russian [[strike: [[OverlyLongGag historian fraud historian fraud historian fraud]]]] [[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgement writer.]]
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-->--'''"Viktor Suvorov"''', Russian [[strike: [[OverlyLongGag historian fraud historian fraud historian [[strike:historian]] [[strike:fraud]] [[strike:historian]] [[strike:fraud]] [[strike:[[OverlyLongGag historian]]]] [[strike:[[OverlyLongGag fraud]]]] [[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgement '''[[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgement writer.]]
]]'''
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* T-72: The main tank up from the 1970s up to the collapse of the SovietUnion, it's actually pretty good (theoretically it could destroy an M1 Abrams), but poor performance of export versions has damaged its reputation.
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* T-72: The main tank up from the 1970s up to the collapse of the SovietUnion, it's actually pretty good (theoretically it could destroy an M1 Abrams), but SovietUnion. The poor performance of export versions against tanks of the M1 Abrams generation has damaged its reputation.reputation, but Iraq proved its superiority over a comparable force of exported M60 Pattons in the Iran-Iraq War.
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** The Iraqi army's T-72s were eaten alive by the US, although that's hardly surprising. They were either inferior locally-built clones or the cheap crap the Soviets exported; they saved the best equipment for themselves. Iraqi crews were poorly trained and inexperienced and the US enjoyed air superiority, among other things. Also, the reason the Iraqi guns performed so poorly was the fact that they often used either obsolete ammunition, with mild steel penetrators, which had become useless 30 years prior, or even training ammunition, often with half or even quarter-charges of propellant! Genuine T-72s in Soviet hands would have been a formidable adversary in Europe.
*** The T-72 was outdated by the time it was deployed by Iraq, so poor build-quality need have nothing to do with its defeat. It was built in the 70's, when its US counterpart would have been the M60, not the M1 which went into service almost a decade later. Even the best built and maintained Soviet T-72's would have struggled.
*** A sign of the state of exported weapons, the same Iraqi T-72 tanks enjoyed near-complete superiority over opposing imported M48 and M60 Patton tanks in the Iran-Iraq War. Said tanks suffered the same problems Iraq would a decade later: lack of spare parts, haphazard training, and lack of air support.
*** The T-72 was outdated by the time it was deployed by Iraq, so poor build-quality need have nothing to do with its defeat. It was built in the 70's, when its US counterpart would have been the M60, not the M1 which went into service almost a decade later. Even the best built and maintained Soviet T-72's would have struggled.
*** A sign of the state of exported weapons, the same Iraqi T-72 tanks enjoyed near-complete superiority over opposing imported M48 and M60 Patton tanks in the Iran-Iraq War. Said tanks suffered the same problems Iraq would a decade later: lack of spare parts, haphazard training, and lack of air support.
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** The Iraqi army's T-72s were eaten alive by the US, although that's hardly surprising. They The T-72s were either cheap Soviet exports or inferior locally-built clones or the cheap crap the Soviets exported; they saved the best equipment for themselves. clones. Iraqi crews were poorly trained and inexperienced inexperienced, and the US enjoyed complete air superiority, among other things. Also, the reason the Iraqi guns performed so poorly was the fact that they often used either obsolete ammunition, with mild steel penetrators, which had become useless 30 years prior, or even training ammunition, often with half or even quarter-charges of propellant! Genuine T-72s in Soviet hands would have been a formidable adversary in Europe.
*** The T-72 was outdated by the time it was deployed by Iraq, so poor build-quality need have nothing to do with its defeat. It was built in the 70's, when its US counterpart would have been the M60, not the M1 which went into service almost a decade later. Even the best built and maintained Soviet T-72's would have struggled.
*** A sign of the state of exported weapons, the same Iraqi T-72 tanks enjoyed near-completesuperiority over opposing imported M48 as well as the advantage of the M1A1 Abrams' fire control computer and M60 Patton infrared optics, which allowed it to fire accurately on the move, at night, in a sandstorm. Many Iraqi tanks in were also using mild-steel penetrator ammunition rendered obsolete 30 years earlier, and some were even using training rounds with half the Iran-Iraq War. Said tanks suffered the same problems Iraq would a decade later: lack of spare parts, haphazard training, and lack of air support.normal propellant charge.
*** The T-72 was outdated by the time it was deployed by Iraq, so poor build-quality need have nothing to do with its defeat. It was built in the 70's, when its US counterpart would have been the M60, not the M1 which went into service almost a decade later. Even the best built and maintained Soviet T-72's would have struggled.
*** A sign of the state of exported weapons, the same Iraqi T-72 tanks enjoyed near-complete
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* [[http://world.guns.ru/grenade/gl02-e.htm RPG-7]] - RPG does not stand for Rocket Propelled Grenade, which was a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backronym backronym]]; RPG stands for ''Ruchnoy Protivotankoviy Granatomyot'', "hand-held anti-tank grenade-launcher", so "RPG Launcher" is an incorrect usage. Much loved by terrorists both real and fictional. The version that [[IKEA Weaponry breaks down into two pieces]] is the paratrooper model.
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* [[http://world.guns.ru/grenade/gl02-e.htm RPG-7]] - RPG does not stand for Rocket Propelled Grenade, which was a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backronym backronym]]; RPG stands for ''Ruchnoy Protivotankoviy Granatomyot'', "hand-held anti-tank grenade-launcher", so "RPG Launcher" is an incorrect usage. Much loved by terrorists both real and fictional. The version that [[IKEA Weaponry [[IKEAWeaponry breaks down into two pieces]] is the paratrooper model.
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* [[http://world.guns.ru/grenade/gl02-e.htm RPG-7]] - RPG does not stand for Rocket Propelled Grenade here and "RPG launcher" is not the correct term to use. RPG stands for ''Reaktivniy Protivotankoviy Granatamyot'' - "jet-powered anti-tank grenade-launcher". Much loved by terrorists real and fictional.
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* [[http://world.guns.ru/grenade/gl02-e.htm RPG-7]] - RPG does not stand for Rocket Propelled Grenade here and "RPG launcher" is not the correct term to use. Grenade, which was a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backronym backronym]]; RPG stands for ''Reaktivniy ''Ruchnoy Protivotankoviy Granatamyot'' - "jet-powered Granatomyot'', "hand-held anti-tank grenade-launcher". grenade-launcher", so "RPG Launcher" is an incorrect usage. Much loved by terrorists both real and fictional.fictional. The version that [[IKEA Weaponry breaks down into two pieces]] is the paratrooper model.
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** Even today Russian army uses the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AK-103 AK-103]], a descendant firing the same 7.62 round.
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* Soviet Navy (name in Russian, Voyenno-morskoy flot SSSR- Naval-Military Forces of the USSR) AKA The Red Fleet- The people with the many submarines and ships (so [[Main/{{MnogoNukes}} Mnogo Nukes]]), including four VTOL aircraft carriers with the useless piece of junk that was the Yak-38 "Forger". Acquired a full-size carrier before the end of the USSR. A second ended up unfinished and sold to China (who appear to be using it to prepare for a carrier of their own), while another was scrapped at 40% complete. Also had the Naval Infantry, the Soviet equivalent of the Marine Corps.
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* Soviet Navy (name in Russian, Voyenno-morskoy flot SSSR- Naval-Military Forces of the USSR) AKA The Red Fleet- The people with the many submarines and ships (so [[Main/{{MnogoNukes}} Mnogo Nukes]]), including four VTOL aircraft carriers with the useless piece of junk that was the [[TheAllegedCar Yak-38 "Forger"."Forger"]]. Acquired a full-size carrier before the end of the USSR. A second ended up unfinished and sold to China (who appear to be using it to prepare for a carrier of their own), while another was scrapped at 40% complete. Also had the Naval Infantry, the Soviet equivalent of the Marine Corps.
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* T-34: Designed in 1940, this tank was considered the best all-around tank design of World War II. Yes, better than even the German Tiger and Panther, as it was cheap to make, with modest maintenance requirements while being reliable and sturdy (all characteristics that the two aforementioned tanks didn't have) and, right up to the end, had decent amour, decent speed (especially in the snow) and a good gun (in the early years, needless to say, these characteristics were even more impressive). Was the most produced model of tank in the world until the T-55.
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* T-34: Designed in 1940, the T-34c was the best tank in the world when it was produced. It was a bit outdated by the end, but it was still very useful. By then the upgraded version, the T-34/85, was being mass produced - this tank was is sometimes considered the best all-around tank design of World War II. Yes, better than even when compared with the German Tiger and Panther, as it was cheap to make, with modest maintenance requirements while being reliable and sturdy (all characteristics that the two aforementioned tanks didn't have) and, right up to the end, had decent amour, decent excellent speed (especially in the snow) and a good gun (in the early years, needless to say, these characteristics were even more impressive). Was the most produced model of tank in the world until the T-55.
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* Project 971 Akula/"Typhoon": An SSBN (nuclear powered submarine with nuclear missiles), the largest submarine ever created. Seen ''TheHuntForRedOctober''? That's one of those, albeit with six more missiles in. Definitely a CoolBoat.
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* Project 971 ''941'' Akula/"Typhoon": An SSBN (nuclear powered submarine with nuclear missiles), the largest submarine ever created. Seen ''TheHuntForRedOctober''? That's one of those, albeit with six more missiles in. Definitely a CoolBoat.CoolBoat.
* Project ''971'' Schuka/"[[NamesTheSame Akula]]": the current Russian nuclear-powered attack sub; reputedly as quiet as early American [=688/=]''Los Angeles'' class submarines. It can fire a salvo of up to ''[[NoKillLikeOverkill fourteen]]'' torpedoes at once. The naming confusion with the ''Typhoon''-class has confused many a naval geek. (Basically, the 941s -- the missile boats -- came out first and were called "Akula" by the Sovs and "Typhoon" by NATO. Then the 971s -- the attack subs -- came out and were called "Schuka" by the Sovs and "Akula" by NATO.)
* Project ''971'' Schuka/"[[NamesTheSame Akula]]": the current Russian nuclear-powered attack sub; reputedly as quiet as early American [=688/=]''Los Angeles'' class submarines. It can fire a salvo of up to ''[[NoKillLikeOverkill fourteen]]'' torpedoes at once. The naming confusion with the ''Typhoon''-class has confused many a naval geek. (Basically, the 941s -- the missile boats -- came out first and were called "Akula" by the Sovs and "Typhoon" by NATO. Then the 971s -- the attack subs -- came out and were called "Schuka" by the Sovs and "Akula" by NATO.)
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Changed line(s) 186,187 (click to see context) from:
*** If you read the details of the case, it soon becomes apparently that KAL 007's crew were being criminally negligent and incompetent... if the Soviets hadn't shot the flight down, their extreme (and completely unnoticed) navigational error may have downed the flight anyway. The Russians made numerous attempts to contact the airliner, none of which were noticed. Then again, they also shot down the flight when it was clearly departing Russian airspace...
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*** If you read the details of the case, it soon becomes apparently apparent that KAL 007's crew were being criminally negligent and incompetent... if the Soviets hadn't shot the flight down, their extreme (and completely unnoticed) navigational error may have downed the flight anyway. The Russians made numerous attempts to contact the airliner, none of which were noticed. Then again, they also shot down the flight when it was clearly departing Russian airspace...
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Changed line(s) 185,186 (click to see context) from:
** KAL 007's shooting down might be a slight ''aversion'' of the trope, at least in partial respect: while the aircraft was most definitely shot down, four bursts of more than 200 warning shot rounds were fired by the aircraft that intercepted the liner. Then again, it was night, and 747s do not have night vision equipment.
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** KAL 007's shooting down might be a slight ''aversion'' of the trope, at least in partial respect: while the aircraft was most definitely shot down, four bursts of more than 200 warning shot rounds were fired by the aircraft that intercepted the liner. Then again, it was night, and 747s do not have night vision equipment.
equipment.
*** If you read the details of the case, it soon becomes apparently that KAL 007's crew were being criminally negligent and incompetent... if the Soviets hadn't shot the flight down, their extreme (and completely unnoticed) navigational error may have downed the flight anyway. The Russians made numerous attempts to contact the airliner, none of which were noticed. Then again, they also shot down the flight when it was clearly departing Russian airspace...
*** If you read the details of the case, it soon becomes apparently that KAL 007's crew were being criminally negligent and incompetent... if the Soviets hadn't shot the flight down, their extreme (and completely unnoticed) navigational error may have downed the flight anyway. The Russians made numerous attempts to contact the airliner, none of which were noticed. Then again, they also shot down the flight when it was clearly departing Russian airspace...
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** Don't forget its' brother the [=AK74=]. Better accuracy, better ammo but only about half famous.
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** Don't forget its' brother the [=AK74=]. AK-74. Better accuracy, better [[strike:[[{{Nerf}} better]]]] lighter ammo but only about half famous.
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** It should be noted that the original AK-47 was only produced from 1947 to 1960. The vast majority of AK-pattern rifles in use today are variants of its successor, the lighter AKM, and Type 56.
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fixed a redlink (not a wikiword)
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While the Soviet Union was not as powerful as often thought at the time, it was still very powerful, making up for lower technology with sheer numbers, which were further exaggerated by propaganda. To give an idea, in 1979 the Soviet Union had more than ''twice'' as many [=MiG-21=] fighters than the [[BritsWithBattleships Royal Air Force and Fleet Air Arm's]] combat aircraft combined. Whatever its other problems, the Red Army was still vastly superior to the dreadful armies fielded by the RussianEmpire in WorldWarOne, who were badly equipped, even more badly trained and even ''more'' badly led.
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While the Soviet Union was not as powerful as often thought at the time, it was still very powerful, making up for lower technology with sheer numbers, which were further exaggerated by propaganda. To give an idea, in 1979 the Soviet Union had more than ''twice'' as many [=MiG-21=] fighters than the [[BritsWithBattleships Royal Air Force and Fleet Air Arm's]] combat aircraft combined. Whatever its other problems, the Red Army was still vastly superior to the dreadful armies fielded by the RussianEmpire Russian Empire in WorldWarOne, who were badly equipped, even more badly trained and even ''more'' badly led.
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* [[http://world.guns.ru/smg/smg02-e.htm PPSh-41]] - or, among other names, as the "Pah-Pah-Shah" due to that being the spelling in Russian. It's known for its drum mag (although box ones were also used) carrying 71 rounds. Developed during [[Main/{{WorldWarTwo}} World War Two]] to replace [[http://world.guns.ru/smg/smg01-e.htm PPD-40]] submachine gun with something better suited for mass production (like [[http://world.guns.ru/smg/smg32-e.htm Grease gun]] vs. TommyGun) and c.6 million were produced. It proved to be very popular with Soviet soldiers despite some drawbacks.
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* [[http://world.guns.ru/smg/smg02-e.htm PPSh-41]] - or, among other names, as the "Pah-Pah-Shah" due to that being the spelling in Russian. It's known for its drum mag (although box ones were also used) carrying 71 rounds. Developed during [[Main/{{WorldWarTwo}} World War Two]] to replace [[http://world.guns.ru/smg/smg01-e.htm PPD-40]] submachine gun with something better suited for mass production (like [[http://world.guns.ru/smg/smg32-e.htm Grease gun]] vs. TommyGun) Tommy Gun) and c.6 million were produced. It proved to be very popular with Soviet soldiers despite some drawbacks.
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** Don't forget its' brother the AK74. Better accuracy, better ammo but only about half famous.
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** Don't forget its' brother the AK74.[=AK74=]. Better accuracy, better ammo but only about half famous.
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** More films use the near-identical Chinese Type-56/QCZ56s because they are way cheaper even when there is no patent for the original.
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** More films use the near-identical Chinese Type-56/QCZ56s Type-56/[=QCZ56s=] because they are way cheaper even when there is no patent for the original.
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Changed line(s) 11,12 (click to see context) from:
While the Soviet Union was not as powerful as often thought at the time, it was still very powerful, making up for lower technology with sheer numbers, which were further exaggerated by propaganda. To give an idea, in 1979 the Soviet Union had more than ''twice'' as many [=MiG-21=] fighters than the [[BritsWithBattleships Royal Air Force and Fleet Air Arm's]] combat aircraft combined.
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While the Soviet Union was not as powerful as often thought at the time, it was still very powerful, making up for lower technology with sheer numbers, which were further exaggerated by propaganda. To give an idea, in 1979 the Soviet Union had more than ''twice'' as many [=MiG-21=] fighters than the [[BritsWithBattleships Royal Air Force and Fleet Air Arm's]] combat aircraft combined.
combined. Whatever its other problems, the Red Army was still vastly superior to the dreadful armies fielded by the RussianEmpire in WorldWarOne, who were badly equipped, even more badly trained and even ''more'' badly led.
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Just correcting a typo.
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* Tu-160 "Blackjack": The supreme Russian CoolPlane, the largest armed military aircraft in service, even heavier than the famous B-52. Soviet equivalent to the B-1B, only longer-ranged and faster and is still manufactured for the Russia Air Force. Famous for its anti-flash finish and variable geometry, earning the nickname "White Sawn", an oddly benign name for a supersonic nuclear missile carrier.
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* Tu-160 "Blackjack": The supreme Russian CoolPlane, the largest armed military aircraft in service, even heavier than the famous B-52. Soviet equivalent to the B-1B, only longer-ranged and faster and is still manufactured for the Russia Air Force. Famous for its anti-flash finish and variable geometry, earning the nickname "White Sawn", Swan", an oddly benign name for a supersonic nuclear missile carrier.
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Changed line(s) 5,6 (click to see context) from:
-->--'''"Viktor Suvorov"''', Russian [[strike: historian fraud historian fraud historian fraud]] [[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgement writer.]]
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-->--'''"Viktor Suvorov"''', Russian [[strike: [[OverlyLongGag historian fraud historian fraud historian fraud]] fraud]]]] [[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgement writer.]]
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Changed line(s) 33 (click to see context) from:
* [[http://world.guns.ru/assault/as01-e.htm AK-47]] - The ''world-famous'' AK. Most produced firearm in history. Responsible for probably millions of deaths. Appears on the flags of Mozambique and Hezbollah. In fiction, used by every terrorist group going and of course, the [[Main/{{RedsWithRockets}} Reds With Rockets]]..
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* [[http://world.guns.ru/assault/as01-e.htm AK-47]] - The ''world-famous'' AK. Most produced firearm in history. Responsible for probably millions of deaths. Appears on the flags of Mozambique and Hezbollah. In fiction, used by every terrorist group going and of course, the [[Main/{{RedsWithRockets}} Reds With Rockets]]..Rockets]].
** Don't forget its' brother the AK74. Better accuracy, better ammo but only about half famous.
** Don't forget its' brother the AK74. Better accuracy, better ammo but only about half famous.
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** More films use the near-identical Chinese Type-56/QCZ56s because they are way cheaper even when there is no patent for the original.
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*** Also to the Israelis themselves. About 1/3 of the Israeli army use the AK before they have Galils and M16s.
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** Ths Mosin-Nagant was in production until 1956(in China). and people still use it as hunting rifles today.
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* Airborne Troops (VDV)- Eight divisions of paratroopers (one training) which was (and still is) directly subordinate to the Ministry of Defence. Had their own version of the BMP-1 Infantry Fighting Vehicle, the BMD-1.
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* Airborne Troops (VDV)- Eight divisions of paratroopers (one training) which was (and still is) directly subordinate to the Ministry of Defence. Had their own version of the BMP-1 BMP-series Infantry Fighting Vehicle, the BMD-1.BMD-series.
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Changed line(s) 168 (click to see context) from:
* '''Viktor Suvorov''': Not his real name, known in western history and military circles, and also quoted at the top. Self-proclaimed GRU defector, though this is in some debate, but well-known as a proponent of the theory that the USSR intended to invade Germany (instead of the reverse). While an interesting take on a pivotal historical moment, it is generally discounted among most professional historians.
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* '''Viktor Suvorov''': Not his real name, known in western history and military circles, and also quoted at the top. Self-proclaimed A former GRU defector, though this is officer. Claims he fled to the West due to danger of arrest, although former coworkers and superiors deny he was in some debate, but well-known danger. Well-known as a proponent of the theory that the USSR intended to invade Germany (instead of the reverse). While an interesting take on a pivotal historical moment, it is generally discounted among most professional historians.
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Changed line(s) 185,186 (click to see context) from:
Another common sub-trope is the Soviet military being equipped with stuff that a) was beyond its technology at the time, b) was beyond ''anyone's'' technology at the time or c) beyond the state of military technology ''even today''. Can you say ''{{Firefox}}''? Partly this was because the West over-estimated Soviet tech levels.
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Another common sub-trope is the [[SovietSuperscience Soviet military being equipped with stuff stuff]] that a) was beyond its technology at the time, b) was beyond ''anyone's'' technology at the time or c) beyond the state of military technology ''even today''. Can you say ''{{Firefox}}''? Partly this was because the West over-estimated Soviet tech levels.
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Changed line(s) 118,119 (click to see context) from:
10. An important Soviet consideration in any World War III scenario would have been to disrupt NATO's Operation [=REFORGER=] ([=REturn of FORces to GERmany=]): the much-practised transportation of US forces across the Atlantic to Western Europe to meet with pre-located equipment. This "Second Battle of the Atlantic" was a major concern for NATO and has been looked at in a fair few works of media, like RedStormRising. However, this wouldn't have been as big a mission as was thought during the ColdWar.
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10. An important Soviet consideration in any World War III scenario would have been to disrupt NATO's Operation [=REFORGER=] ([=REturn of FORces to GERmany=]): the much-practised transportation of US forces across the Atlantic to Western Europe to meet with pre-located equipment. This "Second "[[strike: Second]] [[OlderThanTheyThink Third]] Battle of the Atlantic" was a major concern for NATO and has been looked at in a fair few works of media, like RedStormRising. However, this wouldn't have been as big a mission as was thought during the ColdWar.
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Changed line(s) 5,6 (click to see context) from:
-->--'''"Viktor Suvorov"''', Russian [[strike: historian fraud historian fraud historian fraud]] [[RuleOfCautiousEditing writer.]]
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-->--'''"Viktor Suvorov"''', Russian [[strike: historian fraud historian fraud historian fraud]] [[RuleOfCautiousEditing [[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgement writer.]]
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Changed line(s) 5,6 (click to see context) from:
-->--'''"Viktor Suvorov"''', Russian [[strike: historian fraud historian fraud historian fraud]] person.
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-->--'''"Viktor Suvorov"''', Russian [[strike: historian fraud historian fraud historian fraud]] person.
[[RuleOfCautiousEditing writer.]]
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There is little reason for a somewhat obscure author to receive much more coverage compared to much more famous people.
Deleted line(s) 169,172 (click to see context) :
** He's also widely criticized for doing a ''very poor'' job of historical revisionism, as well as a revealing himself to be a fairly obvious ''anti-Semite'' following his disagreements with Israeli historian Gabriel Gorodetsky, in which he tried unsuccessfully to rally fellow Russians (most of which were not pleased with his claim that Hitler was acting in self-defense) against what he called a ''Jewish conspiracy''.
*** I remember Suvorov claiming Gorodetsky has a bad knowledge of Russian and mocking the fact that his Russian opponents had to invite a foreign "specialist" to refute him, but as for actual antisemitism... A sourced quote, please.
**** To keep it short, [[http://www.tau.ac.il/taunews/96winter/russia.html from]] the website of the university Gorodetsky is a chair in: ''"Brother-paratroopers, need I say more about what needs to be done? Or perhaps you will defend your honor without being prompted? And the honor of your Motherland at the same time?"''. If anyone can offer a translation of the end of ''The Last Republic'', that would be helpful.
** ''Inside The Soviet Army'' (1982) argued that the USSR would go to a full-scale nuclear strike from the get-go because their troops would desert en masse. The discussion of Soviet strategy is used pretty much unedited in ''Literature/TheThirdWorldWar'', which he was part of the team for.
*** I remember Suvorov claiming Gorodetsky has a bad knowledge of Russian and mocking the fact that his Russian opponents had to invite a foreign "specialist" to refute him, but as for actual antisemitism... A sourced quote, please.
**** To keep it short, [[http://www.tau.ac.il/taunews/96winter/russia.html from]] the website of the university Gorodetsky is a chair in: ''"Brother-paratroopers, need I say more about what needs to be done? Or perhaps you will defend your honor without being prompted? And the honor of your Motherland at the same time?"''. If anyone can offer a translation of the end of ''The Last Republic'', that would be helpful.
** ''Inside The Soviet Army'' (1982) argued that the USSR would go to a full-scale nuclear strike from the get-go because their troops would desert en masse. The discussion of Soviet strategy is used pretty much unedited in ''Literature/TheThirdWorldWar'', which he was part of the team for.
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Changed line(s) 168 (click to see context) from:
* '''Viktor Suvorov''': Not his real name, known in western history and military circles, and also quoted at the top. Self-proclaimed GRU defector, though this is in some debate, but well-known as a proponent of the theory that the USSR intended to invade Germany (instead of the reverse).
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* '''Viktor Suvorov''': Not his real name, known in western history and military circles, and also quoted at the top. Self-proclaimed GRU defector, though this is in some debate, but well-known as a proponent of the theory that the USSR intended to invade Germany (instead of the reverse). While an interesting take on a pivotal historical moment, it is generally discounted among most professional historians.
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Don't want to be too long as in past
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**** To keep it short, [[http://www.tau.ac.il/taunews/96winter/russia.html from]] the website of the university Gorodetsky is a chair in: ''"Brother-paratroopers, need I say more about what needs to be done? Or perhaps you will defend your honor without being prompted? And the honor of your Motherland at the same time?"''. If anyone can offer a translation of the end of ''The Last Republic'', that would be helpful.
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* [[http://world.guns.ru/sniper/sn18-e.htm SVD (Dragunov)]] - Soviet support/sniper rifle.
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* [[http://world.guns.ru/sniper/sn18-e.htm SVD (Dragunov)]] - Soviet support/sniper rifle.sniper rifle, pretty much an AK with longer barrel, short-stroke gas system, and a distinctive stock, chambered in [=7.62x54=] mm. Unlike most Western sniper rifles, it's mostly used for medium range fire support, like the M14.
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No real life examples of Complete Monster.
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* Marshal of the Soviet Union '''Georgy Zhukov:''' Major player in the GreatPatrioticWar, he got the Hero of the Soviet Union medal four times. He is popularly believed to have arrested CompleteMonster Lavrentiy Beria.
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* Marshal of the Soviet Union '''Georgy Zhukov:''' Major player in the GreatPatrioticWar, he got the Hero of the Soviet Union medal four times. He is popularly believed to have arrested CompleteMonster Lavrentiy Beria.
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[[caption-width-right:220:T-34, one tank to rule them all.]]
-->I hate Communism, but I love Russian weapons.
-->--'''"Viktor Suvorov"''', Russian [[strike: historian fraud historian fraud historian fraud]] person.
The military of the
Largely a conscript force, unlike the USA's more volunteer force (at least after the VietnamWar). Pretty much everything about Soviet armed forces was designed around this... from durable-but-simple vehicles, to every distinct form of weapon having a distinctly named ammo (even if two different weapons had, say, rounds 40mm in diameter, the Soviets would call one of them a 38mm round, just so idiots in the supply chain would be less likely to make mistakes). The durable-but-simple philosophy also made it possible for the Soviets to have a remarkably successful foreign arms trade, even with lower productivity in their electronics sector; versions of vehicles made for export simply left out the bits that were tricky to manufacture. Thus, say, the BMP-2 that Egypt operated was a ''much'' different beast than the BMP-2 that the Soviets themselves had.
While the Soviet Union was not as powerful as often thought at the time, it was still very powerful, making up for lower technology with sheer numbers, which were further exaggerated by propaganda. To give an idea, in 1979 the Soviet Union had more than ''twice'' as many [=MiG-21=] fighters than the [[BritsWithBattleships Royal Air Force and Fleet Air Arm's]] combat aircraft combined.
It is generally accepted that from c.1972 to c.1982, NATO would not have been able to defend Western Europe militarily from a Soviet assault without using SuperiorFirepower... although Soviet documents from the time seem to disagree. What's more, for much of this period tensions between the two powers were at a low, with the situation only escalating in the "Second Cold War", post-1979.
'''The Key Components'''
* Strategic Rocket Forces- the people with MnogoNukes, who controlled the USSR's intercontinental ballistic missiles. The name "Rocket" comes from the fact that the Russians, by and large, use the same word (''raketa'') to mean "missile" and "rocket"- which is also why this entry is called RedsWithRockets.
* Ground Forces AKA The Red Army (there were actually a lot of "armies", the Soviet equivalent to "corps")- The people with Kalashnikovs. Had Mnogo Nukes in the form of tactical ballistic missiles and artillery. You wouldn't believe how many tactical (non-nuclear) rockets they had; some units in the past had more rockets than gun-style artillery.
* Air Defence Forces (PVO Strany until 1981, Voyska PVO after that until 1991)- The people responsible for the air defence of the USSR against [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Air_Lines_Flight_007 civilian 747s that wander off course]], among other things. Famously managed to let in a microlight. Had MnogoNukes in the form of nuclear surface-to-air missiles.
* Air Force (VVS)- The people with the bombers and therefore [[Main/{{MnogoNukes}} Mnogo Nukes]].
* Soviet Navy (name in Russian, Voyenno-morskoy flot SSSR- Naval-Military Forces of the USSR) AKA The Red Fleet- The people with the many submarines and ships (so [[Main/{{MnogoNukes}} Mnogo Nukes]]), including four VTOL aircraft carriers with the useless piece of junk that was the Yak-38 "Forger". Acquired a full-size carrier before the end of the USSR. A second ended up unfinished and sold to China (who appear to be using it to prepare for a carrier of their own), while another was scrapped at 40% complete. Also had the Naval Infantry, the Soviet equivalent of the Marine Corps.
** Broken down into the Northern Fleet, Baltic Fleet, Pacific Fleet, Black Sea Fleet, Indian Ocean Squadron and the Caspian Flotilla.
* Airborne Troops (VDV)- Eight divisions of paratroopers (one training) which was (and still is) directly subordinate to the Ministry of Defence. Had their own version of the BMP-1 Infantry Fighting Vehicle, the BMD-1.
* Spetsnaz ('''spet'''sialnogo '''naz'''nacheniya- "Special Purpose Units")- refers to a large collection of units, including Spetsnaz GRU (Glavnoje Razvedyvatel'noje Upravlenije- Main Intelligence Directorate), the KGB's counter-terrorist Alfa Group and internal security forces. Most of these groups still exist in some form among the [[TricoloursWithRustingRockets modern Russian military]]. Much of what is known about them comes from [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Suvorov a controversial defector]].
'''Battle Balalaikas: Their Notable Hand Weapons'''
* [[http://world.guns.ru/rifle/rfl03-e.htm Mosin-Nagant]] - actually entered service in [=XIX=] century, long before [[Main/{{RedOctober}} Red October]]. Designed by Captain Sergei Nosin and Belgian Léon Nagant, c.37 million were built. It may look outdated when compared with semi-auto rifles of 1930s, and it was, but it's also powerful and precise. Mosin-Nagant rifle (of another design branch) with iron sights only was WeaponOfChoice of the most deadly sniper ever - [[http://www.mosinnagant.net/finland/simohayha.asp Simo Häyhä, "the White Death"]]... and he ''has'' choice. During [[Main/{{WorldWarTwo}} World War Two]], a sniper version was made.
** "The one with the rifle shoots. The one without the rifle follows. When the one with the rifle is killed, the one that follows picks up the rifle and fires.". Yep, it's in ''Enemy At The Gates''. Zaytsev and Pavlichenko (a female Soviet sniper with a similar number of kills to Zaytsev) both used this.
*** Slightly misleading, while it was a major problem in [=WW1=] the Soviet Union in [=WW2=] generally had enough rifles. Now ammunition on the other hand...
* [[http://world.guns.ru/smg/smg02-e.htm PPSh-41]] - or, among other names, as the "Pah-Pah-Shah" due to that being the spelling in Russian. It's known for its drum mag (although box ones were also used) carrying 71 rounds. Developed during [[Main/{{WorldWarTwo}} World War Two]] to replace [[http://world.guns.ru/smg/smg01-e.htm PPD-40]] submachine gun with something better suited for mass production (like [[http://world.guns.ru/smg/smg32-e.htm Grease gun]] vs. TommyGun) and c.6 million were produced. It proved to be very popular with Soviet soldiers despite some drawbacks.
** If you're played a [[Main/{{WorldWarTwo}} World War Two]] game involving the Red Army (but '''not''' ''{{Battlefield 1942}}''), you will almost certainly have "fired" this at some point.
* [[http://world.guns.ru/assault/as01-e.htm AK-47]] - The ''world-famous'' AK. Most produced firearm in history. Responsible for probably millions of deaths. Appears on the flags of Mozambique and Hezbollah. In fiction, used by every terrorist group going and of course, the [[Main/{{RedsWithRockets}} Reds With Rockets]]..
* [[http://world.guns.ru/handguns/hg21-e.htm Makarov PM]] - Standard pistol of Soviet bad guys and popular in real life too. Self-defense pistol that replaced early [[http://world.guns.ru/handguns/hg20-e.htm TT]] combat pistol as a standard sidearm after WWII. Now being replaced among the TricoloursWithRustingRockets with the Yarygin [=PYa=]- also known as the MP-443 "Grach" ("rook").
* [[http://world.guns.ru/sniper/sn18-e.htm SVD (Dragunov)]] - Soviet support/sniper rifle.
* [[http://world.guns.ru/grenade/gl02-e.htm RPG-7]] - RPG does not stand for Rocket Propelled Grenade here and "RPG launcher" is not the correct term to use. RPG stands for ''Reaktivniy Protivotankoviy Granatamyot'' - "jet-powered anti-tank grenade-launcher". Much loved by terrorists real and fictional.
* Strela-2 ("arrow")/SA-7 "Grail"- the first Soviet man-portable SAM. Terrorists like the thing. Wasn't very powerful (it got better in the [=Strela-2M/SA-7B=] version) and loved the Sun too much.
* Igla ("needle")/SA-18 "Grouse"- a modern hand-held SAM and also used by terrorist groups.
''You Too Can Own A Battle Balalaika!''
As noted, fictional bad guys love to use Soviet weapons, even if they're not actually Soviet. This is rather TruthInTelevision for a number of reasons, especially for the AK-47 family:
* The USSR exported the AK to a lot of countries, either for cash or as military aid.
* A lot of them were given to militant groups worldwide.
* The AK had a lot of local versions, produced both with and without a licence. Despite the design now being patented in Russia, it's still produced in a lot of back-street weapons shops.
* The AK is known for being very reliable. It can stuck in a swamp for weeks, pulled out, quickly cleaned and fire first time. It also needs little training to fire. It is so easy to use a child could (''[[ChildSoldiers literally]]'') wield it.
** It's also pretty cheap. For the filming of ''Lord Of War'', it turned out to be cheaper to borrow 3,000 real rifles from a Czech arms dealer than get 3,000 replicas.
*** Those weren't even AK's, they were Czech VZ-58 rifles; a completely unrelated firearm.
* With the Soviet-Afghan War, a lot of the weapons ended up in the hands of the Mujahideen and therefore among the Islamist movement.
** Not to mention how they exported thousands and thousands of the things to Egypt, Syria, Iraq, and the other anti-Israeli powers during the 50s and 60s.
* With the end of the USSR, a lot of corrupt officers sold off weapons for cash.
(Speaking of advertising, Amnesty did a spoof shopping channel video with the host advertising the AK-47. It can be found on the DVD for ''LordOfWar'')
'''Soviet Military Vehicles: Not Just For Parades'''
The infamous Russian fighting vehicle; tough, hard look, nasty armor, not enough fuel to reach the front line. It has been said that everything the Soviets built, from tanks to washing machines, was built using three times more steel than it needed, because Stalin wanted to inflate the economic figures associated with steel consumption. True or not, Commie stuff looks tough and keeps going under adverse conditions, with plenty of spare parts to hand helping. Unless it is the Yak-38 "Forger".
It's also usually pretty big (for example, the [=MiG-31=] and the An-225, the latter being the largest plane in the world). Unless we're talking about tanks and other vehicles, which tend to be smaller (which means cramped, but also a smaller target, at least in theory) and considerably lighter (the BMP-2 is literally half the weight of the American M3 Bradley). For similar reasons, a lot of it is amphibious, another thing Russian designers seem fond of.
Apart from the bomber aircraft mentioned [[Main/{{MnogoNukes}} here]], the Soviets also produced some very advanced fighters, helicopters, and some stand-out tanks and [=APCs=], although they were still behind the West a lot of the time. What often escapes notice is how small a lot of the cockpits were. Russian military leaders in WWII had the bright idea to sort the army by size, making big men infantry, and letting the little men be tank crew. This meant building the tank smaller, and therefore getting thicker armor for the same weight. This philosophy carried forward over time. Vostok space capsules were tiny, so the first astronauts were also small; Yuri Gagarin was barely five feet (actually, 5 feet 5 inches; Alan Shepard was 5'11", and Neil Armstrong was 5'9"). This is another reason to bring in the ladies (see below), they started to run short on men small enough to fit.
Soviet hardware was exported and copied over and over, so a lot of their vehicles are still in the cross hairs of US fighting forces even when the Russians aren't. The Chinese and North Koreans during Korea, the NVA in Vietnam, the Afghan and Iraqi fighters of today, all arm themselves in Soviet leftovers, or reproductions based on Soviet designs.
The relatively poor performance of such hardware against American forces historically is partly due to the fact that the Soviets actually tended to give their client states downgraded versions of their aircraft (EastGermany and Poland got the Soviet stuff), a practice not uncommon in the arms trade business, but particularly pronounced with the Soviets. It also has to be remembered the Soviet built their vehicles to be cheap and easy to produce. WeHaveReserves was a big part of Soviet strategy, as was [[ZergRush en-masse attacks]].
The most notable of these:
* [=MiG-15=]: The famous fighter of TheKoreanWar, many were actually covertly flown by Soviet pilots. Unfortunately designated "Fagot" by NATO (It's actually pronounced [[ItsPronouncedTROPAY Fah-gett/fah-goh]] if you're trying to avoid that little landmine).
* [=MiG-17=] "Fresco": in TheVietnamWar, this proved to be a major menace to American bombers, who started the TOPGUN school to train pilots to fight it.
* [=MiG-21=] "Fishbed": ''Fishbeds! Fishbeds! Roly-poly Fishbeds!'' (Thanks to whoever came up with that in a YKTTW) Despite the very unflattering reporting name, it's the most produced jet fighter in history (nearly 20,000 when you count the Chinese version, the J-7) and still in service in a number of countries. Capable of Mach 2.2, but it is pig-ugly and not a world-beater. Still very effective though, especially in Vietnam.
* T-34: Designed in 1940, this tank was considered the best all-around tank design of World War II. Yes, better than even the German Tiger and Panther, as it was cheap to make, with modest maintenance requirements while being reliable and sturdy (all characteristics that the two aforementioned tanks didn't have) and, right up to the end, had decent amour, decent speed (especially in the snow) and a good gun (in the early years, needless to say, these characteristics were even more impressive). Was the most produced model of tank in the world until the T-55.
* T-55: The most produced tank in history, with up to 100,000 built and many still in use.
** In ''GoldenEye'', JamesBond takes one of these to chase after Natalya, causing quite a bit of damage to St. Petersburg in the process. James, [[HeroesWantRedheads just because she's a redhead...]]
* T-72: The main tank up from the 1970s up to the collapse of the SovietUnion, it's actually pretty good (theoretically it could destroy an M1 Abrams), but poor performance of export versions has damaged its reputation.
** In ''RedDwarf'', Kryten, rather annoyed at the fact that everyone else on the ship is in "Jane Austen World", enters the VR game. In this tank (the same prop from the Bond film in fact), he then proceeds to blow up the gazebo.
** The Iraqi army's T-72s were eaten alive by the US, although that's hardly surprising. They were either inferior locally-built clones or the cheap crap the Soviets exported; they saved the best equipment for themselves. Iraqi crews were poorly trained and inexperienced and the US enjoyed air superiority, among other things. Also, the reason the Iraqi guns performed so poorly was the fact that they often used either obsolete ammunition, with mild steel penetrators, which had become useless 30 years prior, or even training ammunition, often with half or even quarter-charges of propellant! Genuine T-72s in Soviet hands would have been a formidable adversary in Europe.
*** The T-72 was outdated by the time it was deployed by Iraq, so poor build-quality need have nothing to do with its defeat. It was built in the 70's, when its US counterpart would have been the M60, not the M1 which went into service almost a decade later. Even the best built and maintained Soviet T-72's would have struggled.
*** A sign of the state of exported weapons, the same Iraqi T-72 tanks enjoyed near-complete superiority over opposing imported M48 and M60 Patton tanks in the Iran-Iraq War. Said tanks suffered the same problems Iraq would a decade later: lack of spare parts, haphazard training, and lack of air support.
** The Polish PT-90 is a modern tank based on the T-72 design.
*** As is the Russian T-90, which is a combination of this one with the next tank on the list. The T-72 provides the hull, the T-80 provided the sights and the gun, and a new engine was built from scratch.
* T-80: The first MBT to use a gas turbine, albeit with its own problems, intended to face American M1 tanks. It's low weight and high-power engine made it fast. ''Very'' fast. Unlike other Russian things, earlier models were not famed for their reliability, owed to the revolutionary engine.
** Earned the nickname "Tanks of the British Channel", from their performance in Soviet war games, they were even seen overtaking tourist buses on highways in Germany. Not bad for a ''tank'', though speed is not everything.
* K-13/AA-2 "Atoll": The first effective Soviet air-to-air missile. This was based to a suspicious level on the AIM-9 Sidewinder, because it was an AIM-9. The rump ROC, holed up on Taiwan, and the mainland PRC, have sometimes engaged in cross-Straits military clashes; some of these have been in the air. In 1958, the United States supplied the ROCAF with technicians and US AIM-9 Sidewinders; some of the ROCAF's F-86 Sabres acquired an AIM-9 capability. They got used eventually, fighting PLAAF [=MiG-15s=] over the Straits; a Sidewinder got launched. One of them worked perfectly, homing in on the target and striking it, except that it didn't detonate and ended up stuck in the [=MiG-15's=] fuselage. Said [=MiG-15=] managed to return to base; that particular Sidewinder was soon in the USSR, being reverse-engineered. Heat-seeking to begin with, but there was also a semi-active radar homing version.
* R-73/AA-11 "Archer": One of the world's best short-range air-to-air missiles, with an "off-boresight" capability, allowing to be launched up to 60 degrees from an aircraft's centreline via a helmet-mounted sight. Led to a lot of missiles in response, especially after some mock dogfights where German (via the old EastGermany) [=MiG-29=]s whipped American F-16s, including Sidewinder upgrades.
* BMP family: A group of infantry fighting vehicles, basically [=APCs=] with a tank gun and NBC shielding. Also amphibious, a trait shared with many Russian-designed fighting vehicles.
* The "Katyusha" series of rocket launcher artillery pieces. Incredibly simple and cheap to produce: the launchers are not much more than a couple of metal rails welded together, and the projectiles aren't much harder to make. They were placed on any chassis available, from trucks to tanks, or omitted the chassis altogether. A single launcher was capable of delivering a MacrossMissileMassacre to a certain area in a very small amount of time.
* Project 971 Akula/"Typhoon": An SSBN (nuclear powered submarine with nuclear missiles), the largest submarine ever created. Seen ''TheHuntForRedOctober''? That's one of those, albeit with six more missiles in. Definitely a CoolBoat.
* Tu-22M "Backfire": A CoolPlane, designed for medium-range anti-shipping and bombing strikes. Gave NATO planners headaches throughout the 1980s.
* Tu-160 "Blackjack": The supreme Russian CoolPlane, the largest armed military aircraft in service, even heavier than the famous B-52. Soviet equivalent to the B-1B, only longer-ranged and faster and is still manufactured for the Russia Air Force. Famous for its anti-flash finish and variable geometry, earning the nickname "White Sawn", an oddly benign name for a supersonic nuclear missile carrier.
* An-124 "Condor": A strategic transport plane, one of the largest in the world. Useful for humanitarian work as well as military stuff, {{NATO}} have actually recently been hiring these from Russian and Ukrainian companies to transport stuff like helicopters and tanks. Development continues, including commercial version.
* ZSU-23-4: A mobile anti-aircraft gun system, one of the best in the world due to progressive upgrades despite being first deployed over 45 years ago.
* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lun-class_ekranoplan Lun-class ekranoplan, introduced in 1987]] - An ekranoplan is a ground effect vehicle, meaning it hovers above the water. The Lun is gigantic, about the size of the Spruce Goose, and had 6 missile launchers. It flew over the ocean very fast and below radar. Because of budget cuts and the collapse of the Soviet Union, they never went into wide use. The Soviet Union's Crowning Moment of Awesome.
The Soviet Union was really into military parades and flypasts- Moscow's airspace is barred from access totally except for them, frequently having nuclear-capable missiles going through Red Square on events like Victory Day (9 May - the end of the GreatPatrioticWar in Europe for Eastern Europe due to time zone differences). This tradition of parading hardware, which allowed Western analysts to look at new Soviet tech (although the Soviets didn't say what stuff was called), was discontinued in 1991, but resumed with [[TricoloursWithRustingRockets the Russian military]] in 2008.
'''Soviets Do It Differently'''
It has to be remembered that the Soviet Union had a different tactical and strategic methodology to NATO.
1. The pre-Barbarossa wars (with Poland and Finland) exposed the weaknesses of the Red Army. Stalin's 1930s purging of the officer corps destroyed whatever dissent there was and thus strengthened the state, but the quality of the military declined significantly, precisely as important doctrinal innovation was taking place under Tukhachevsky and others. It took years for training and tactical quality to be regained.
2. Stalin expected the Germans to attack, but not so soon. The Soviet strategy was to postpone it for as long as possible (to the point of not shooting down reconnaissance planes over their territory), while industrialising and bolstering their forces. From January 1939 to June 1941, Red manpower increased by 132%; there was never any shortage of troops at any stage of the war. But training and readiness was risible; proper mechanisation was slow and their tanks were of mixed quality and poorly maintained. Equipment was initially bad, but improved the quickest, especially in small arms.
3. The initial Soviet defence was shambolic. Enormous reserves were massed on the western border, but they were totally unprepared and hampered in every way; the Germans wiped the floor with them and gained ground quickly. Their response was to retreat while scorching the earth, move all their production capacity east beyond bombing range- much had already been built there for that reason- and mobilise the population on a massive scale (three things the Soviets were good at) while hunkering down in the fortress cities of Leningrad, Moscow and Stalingrad.
4. The Germans were geared towards a fast war; they weren't prepared for a two-campaign commitment. It was essential that they capture Moscow as quickly as possible, cutting the Soviet infrastructure in two and destroying its central command; yet Hitler's decision was to first more properly consolidate power in Ukraine and give the soldiers some rest when they should have pushed on. When their army reached the gates of the major cities, they became bogged down in attrition warfare, facing endless waves of cheap troops, while their own expensive ones were ground down. While Russian losses were heavy, the pool of men available to the USSR, fighting on their home ground, meant [[WeHaveReserves they could afford to lose them]]. The Germans couldn't. Thus the true turning point of the war was early on, in Kiev. Not Stalingrad or Kursk.
5. With Barbarossa broken, the Soviet began their own push to Berlin; Hitler never gave up, even when a second front opened in France and Italy. By this time the Germans just couldn't match the Russians' quantity and improving quality, although heavy casualties were inflicted until the very end.
6. Cold War doctrine was largely based on their practical experience in Barbarossa; it benefited from peace, reflection, scientific improvement and the end of the Stalinist purges. Their forces were always more geared for defence than offence (although it didn't entirely look like it from a Western perspective); aircraft carriers were built quite late, for example, due to disagreements over their design. It was largely a conscripted force, taking advantage of the limitless manpower and land of the USSR. Their military forces cost little to maintain and use compared to NATO's; a basic requirement.
7. In the Soviet view the common infantryman was still central no matter what technological innovations came about; although they were aware that an attack would come from the air first, they held that the enemy would eventually have to come by land to achieve its ends. Even the Navy was seen as a kind of flank for the Ground Forces and the concept of a separate Air Force was never really embraced- for a start they had two "Air Forces"; air power was meant to be used in an integrated ground-support fashion. Soviet fighters tended to be fighter-bombers or interceptors, with the Su-27 "Flanker" not arriving until the late 1980s. It was also observed in the Great Patriotic War that most firefights occurred at ranges less than 400 yards, so marksmen were generally placed in a squad support role rather than on their own.
8. At the platoon, company and battalion level, Soviet doctrine sacrificed flexibility, and to compensate for this
9. In keeping with such a doctrine, the command structure of the Soviet military was more centralised than Western ones; for example, [=NCOs=] had little importance compared to their NATO counterparts.
10. An important Soviet consideration in any World War III scenario would have been to disrupt NATO's Operation [=REFORGER=] ([=REturn of FORces to GERmany=]): the much-practised transportation of US forces across the Atlantic to Western Europe to meet with pre-located equipment. This "Second Battle of the Atlantic" was a major concern for NATO and has been looked at in a fair few works of media, like RedStormRising. However, this wouldn't have been as big a mission as was thought during the ColdWar.
11. The Soviets had enter into service from 1976 to 1988. four VTOL aircraft carriers, known to NATO as the "''Kiev''" class after the first one (The USSR didn't use the first-in-class naming system for their ship types that the US did and does), along with plans for full-length carriers, only one of which, eventually called ''Admiral Kuznetsov'', ultimately entered service. These, contrary to initial opinion, were not intended to head out into open water and engage American carrier groups in a Midway-style carrier group battle. Their assignments would have been to protect "bastion areas", where the longer-range Soviet missile submarines would be ready to launch if ordered.
12. The Soviets placed a big reliance on land-based naval aviation, especially anti-ship bombers like the "Backfire". This was as part of their planned defence against a multiple US carrier group attack via the Kola Peninsula and also in the Med. The Soviets had the problem that all their naval access routes to oceans required going past hostile states- Denmark, Turkey, Japan, Norway.
'''Communism's A Gas: Chemical and Biological Weapons'''
The Soviet Union had a considerable chemical weapons programme, including such lovely stuff as VX nerve agent, although little information was available during the ColdWar. The US and USSR signed an agreement in 1990 to dismantle the stockpiles, a process that is still ongoing. An incapacitating agent, possibly [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KOLOKOL-1 KOLOKOL-1]], would later be used by Russian forces during the 2002 Moscow theatre siege, to disastrous effect.
The Soviet Union also had a biological weaponry programme, including weaponised versions of smallpox and anthrax, conducted by Biopreparat, a "civilian" agency. There were at least two major accidental releases of these, most famously the 1979 Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg) [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sverdlovsk_anthrax_leak anthrax leak]]. At least 105 died in that incident, with precise figures unknown as a large-scale cover-up was performed to hide poor Soviet health care and major violations of the Biological Weapons Convention.
Both of these programmes are popular sources of a WeaponOfMassDestruction.
'''Girls Just Wanna Shoot Fascists'''
The female Soviet officer is cited in TheBaroness and we note also the example of Major Anya Amasova from ''TheSpyWhoLovedMe'', although she's actually a KGB agent (and a bad FakeRussian, but let's not quibble here). When the chips were down and the Nazis were at the Gates, the women chipped in. Women flew combat and the only two female aces in the world were both Soviet (a fact noted by an American character in ''RedStormRising'', mentally complaining that she's merely doing ferrying duty while the men were fighting, who then proceeds to become number three). 89 of them became Heroes Of The Soviet Union.
[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyudmila_Pavlichenko Lyudmila Pavlichenko]] was a famous female sniper, who was eventually pulled from the front line when she became too well-known and used for propaganda purposes. She had more confirmed kills than the above-mentioned Zaytsev.
They also fought in the front line- a number being snipers- and performed other vital tasks.
After the war, most left and it was rather hard for those who stayed. There were still a few there though. Svetlana Savitskaya, the second woman in space and the first to do a space walk, was a military test pilot.
'''Soviet Military Bling'''
As with any military, there were medals. Here are the more notable military ones (there were civilian ones as well- the USSR had three ranks of medals for ''having seven or more children''). Sadly a lot of these ended up being also given out like candy to any popular Communist (Brezhnev awarded himself ''four'' Heroes of the Soviet Union medals, which resulted in quite a few jokes). Many of these are retained by the modern Russian military. The medals Brezhnev gave himself were revoked, though.
Some of the most notable ones:
* Order of Lenin- given for exemplary service, it was automatically awarded to those made Heroes of the Soviet Union.
** Given to JamesBond in ''AViewToAKill'' for saving the American microchip industry (and by extension because of espionage, the Soviet one as well). It's inaccurately stated he's the first non-Soviet to get one.
* Order of Suvorov- again for exceptional duty. Named after famous general Alexander Suvorov, responsible for the phrase "Train hard, fight easy".
** When [[{{Alias}} Sydney Bristow]] pretends to be a Russian officer, she's got a chunk of her equipment disguised as this, plus some other medals.
* Order of the Red Banner- a military award that could be given to both individuals and formations. It was given to three of the Soviet naval fleets, which meant the Northern Fleet was known as the Red Banner Northern Fleet.
** Satirised in ''Animal Farm'', with the Order of the ''Green'' Banner.
* Order of Kutuzov- Named after the Marshal who chased Napoleon out of Russia. Notable because it's awarded for "neutralizing enemy tactics and counterattacking effectively." Yes, they have an award ''expressly'' for being a sneaky bastard.
* Order of Victory - Only 20 of these made. Awarded to the top Soviet generals of the GreatPatrioticWar, as well as to Stalin and some foreign leaders. Montgomery and Eisenhower got one as well. Contains 174 diamonds (although those might be fake) and is worth a lot without the historical value of it.
'''Generally Famous Soviets'''
Some members of the Soviet military become well-known names in the West, often because they wrote prolifically.
* Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union '''Sergey Gorshkov:''' May have have originated the phrase "'Better' is the enemy of 'Good Enough'". Certainly turned the Soviet Navy from a coastal defence force to a blue-water one. Also spent ''twenty-nine'' years as head of that navy before retiring and being replaced by his his chief of staff.
** Appears in ''TheHuntForRedOctober'' and in CaptainErsatz form in the Charles L. Taylor novel ''Show of Force''.
** Wrote ''The Sea Power of the State'', which was translated into English. This troper used it as a major source for his thesis.
* Marshal of the Soviet Union '''Georgy Zhukov:''' Major player in the GreatPatrioticWar, he got the Hero of the Soviet Union medal four times. He is popularly believed to have arrested CompleteMonster Lavrentiy Beria.
* Colonel '''Yuri Gagarin''': The first man in space.
* Major-General '''Valentina Tereshkova''': The first woman in space, originally an amateur parachutist and textile worker.
* '''Viktor Suvorov''': Not his real name, known in western history and military circles, and also quoted at the top. Self-proclaimed GRU defector, though this is in some debate, but well-known as a proponent of the theory that the USSR intended to invade Germany (instead of the reverse).
** He's also widely criticized for doing a ''very poor'' job of historical revisionism, as well as a revealing himself to be a fairly obvious ''anti-Semite'' following his disagreements with Israeli historian Gabriel Gorodetsky, in which he tried unsuccessfully to rally fellow Russians (most of which were not pleased with his claim that Hitler was acting in self-defense) against what he called a ''Jewish conspiracy''.
*** I remember Suvorov claiming Gorodetsky has a bad knowledge of Russian and mocking the fact that his Russian opponents had to invite a foreign "specialist" to refute him, but as for actual antisemitism... A sourced quote, please.
** ''Inside The Soviet Army'' (1982) argued that the USSR would go to a full-scale nuclear strike from the get-go because their troops would desert en masse. The discussion of Soviet strategy is used pretty much unedited in ''Literature/TheThirdWorldWar'', which he was part of the team for.
* Let's not forget '''Leon Trotsky''', the man who founded the Red Army. Despite being an intellectual with almost no military experience, Trotsky proved to be a BadassBookworm in leading the Red Army to victory over the ''many'' forces that wanted to depose the Bolsheviks after they seized power in the [[RedOctober Russian Revolution]]. He's also an example of AuthorityEqualsAsskicking, given his prominent position in Vladimir Lenin's government and the fact that he was Lenin's preferred choice to succeed him as head of the Soviet Union.
'''The Soviet Military in Fiction'''
During the ColdWar, RedsWithRockets were easily usable bad guys (often {{Mooks}} - they're positively churned through in a battle in ''TheLivingDaylights'') for Western media, although a few good ones could turn up (in an episode of ''{{MacGyver}}'', a Soviet soldier who Mac earlier spared lets him and two others leave Afghanistan). There are probably tonnes of Soviet and Russian examples with them as heroes.
Spetsnaz units have become legendary in popular culture, acquiring a reputation for brutality and being quite a cut above your average military member.
Another trope is that any foreign aircraft, even obviously civilian ones, is instantly attacked by the Soviet Air Defense Force with no challenges or questions.
* Averted in the ''{{MacGyver}}'' episode "To Be A Man", where Mac is told multiple times to identify himself. Then again, he could hardly say "Ya amerikanskii spion" ("I am an American spy") and he was flying an aircraft that looked military...
* As previously mentioned, some TruthInTelevision there; witness the 1983 shootdown of KAL 007. They might have mistaken it for an American ELINT aircraft. And later they let Matthias Rust through, possibly deliberately to some extent, to land his Cessna in Red Square. A real-life aversion of sorts was the case of Stanislav Petrov, who in 1983 was an officer with the missile warning people; the Soviet early warning satellite system picked up a launch (in reality it wasn't actually a launch, of course, but if I recall sunlight being reflected off of clouds in the early morning or something along those lines) and because he was aware of this and the circumstances (the US, if it were launching a pre-emptive strike, wouldn't just launch two or three missiles from silos in North Dakota, but probably start things out with SLBM and cruise missile attacks...and there'd be a *lot* more [=ICBMs=] launched from silos...) refused to alert his superiors. He may have prevented a civilization-shattering nuclear exchange; however, he was reprimanded by his superiors. Eventually, years later, he was given a cash award by some do-gooders; he used it to buy a vacuum cleaner, which broke. Ha ha..."I prevented a global strategic thermonuclear exchange, and all I got was this stupid vacuum cleaner." Ha ha.
** KAL 007's shooting down might be a slight ''aversion'' of the trope, at least in partial respect: while the aircraft was most definitely shot down, four bursts of more than 200 warning shot rounds were fired by the aircraft that intercepted the liner. Then again, it was night, and 747s do not have night vision equipment.
As mentioned in IKnowThatGun, you will sometimes see 1980s Soviet soldiers wielding AK-47s, when in reality they'd been replaced by AK-74s.
* Mostly. There were just too much [=AKM=]s to remove them all.
Another common sub-trope is the Soviet military being equipped with stuff that a) was beyond its technology at the time, b) was beyond ''anyone's'' technology at the time or c) beyond the state of military technology ''even today''. Can you say ''{{Firefox}}''? Partly this was because the West over-estimated Soviet tech levels.
There's another trope- "Red Star Added For Your Convenience"- adding Red Stars to ID something as Soviet where there would not be on in real life- usually on pilots' helmets (''Airwolf'' for example).
Every Red With Rocket is a graduate of the ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy. Considering how rate of fire trumped accuracy completely with the completely inaccurate [=PPSh-41=], this might have basis in reality. The weapon was made by cutting rifle barrels in half, and the process would warp the rifling at the end of the barrel completely, causing bullets to literately go everywhere. MoreDakka indeed.
* The MoreDakka design philosophy continued with the AK-47 family. As stated above, [=AKs=] are extremely reliable and easy to obtain, but they are also among the less accurate assault rifles out there.
* Pyotr Grigorenko in his memoirs (''In the underground you can meet only rats'') described a fight in Hungary when ''one soldier'' (already a veteran of WWI and general's bodyguard chosen for experience, but still) made a difference because he refused to replace his rifle (''probably'' Mosin, ironsights only) with [=SMG=] - he thought MoreDakka was a trademark of ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy, and had a chance to demonstrate this. The soldier chose a good position and proceeded to serenely pick off targets ''without misses and scoring only non-lethal called shots'' at a distance over 200 m, which was far too much for others - and [=SMG=]-rattling foes couldn't do anything about it other than to back off and take cover.
One of the few Western examples of the Soviet military as good guys is ''EnemyAtTheGates'', which is set during the SecondWorldWar, when the USSR [[http://www.nh.gov/nhsl/ww2/ww47prt.html were good guys]], at least compared to ThoseWackyNazis so to speak.
With the collapse of the USSR we now have TricoloursWithRustingRockets.
Particularly notable depictions of Reds with Rockets include ''RedDawn'' and ''[[CommandAndConquer Command & Conquer: Red Alert]]''.
* The Reds in Red Dawn where Cubans-- but there was a Soviet Political Officer, and of course "BadAss" at the end.
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