Publication Details
Published 2017
This collection of documents, spanning three decades from the 1960s to the 1980s, focus on CIA’s collection and analysis of the Soviet Navy. In addition, this collection is a continuation of previous releases on the Warsaw Pact forces [available at CIA Analysis of Warsaw Pact Forces and Soviet and Warsaw Pact Military Journals] and adds 82 newly released documents ranging from translation of the clandestinely-obtained articles from the Soviet military journal, Military Thought, to the high-level National Intelligence Estimates.
Many of the documents in this collection reflect the tensions in the bipolar Cold War and specifically focused on the Soviet Navy’s development of its naval forces during that timeframe. After World War II, the U.S. leaders faced a nuclear armed rival and in no time, Soviet tanks were in the streets of Budapest, and the first Sputnik satellite was launched. Understanding how the Soviet Union envisioned the next combat situation required in-depth knowledge of both their high-level theory of warfare and probable tactical behavior. The collection will provide new insight into the Agency’s analysis of the evolving Soviet Navy and its military posture during the Cold War.
For more information on the event, view the press release.
The document collection can be viewed on the CIA FOIA website at: http://www.foia.cia.gov/collection/cia-analysis-soviet-navy.