Soviet Military Power 1987 reviews new development in the USSR's armed forces over the past year and places these in the context of current doctrine and strategy. These developments again underscore that the USSR is building new generations of offensive strategic and theater nuclear forces, as well as conventional land, sea, and air forces and strategic defense forces, going far beyond legitimate requirements for defense.

A study of the political economy of Soviet military power, examining Soviet Russian ideology and tradition, theory and practice of the military doctrine, the domestic aspect and new economic realism, technology and efficiency, and Perestroika and Glasnost from 1985-1987.

This book, first published in 1989, analyses Western and Soviet perceptions of each other’s military thoughts and doctrines, a key part of the Cold War, where both sides planned to both win a possible conflict, and to avoid one. The work demonstrates that both East and West made judgments about each other’s military profile on the basis of political preconceptions.

The most significant strategic development in the second half of the twentieth century has been the emergence of the Soviet Union as a superpower. This dominant position is firmly founded on military strength, and the Soviet Union's relentless expansionist policies would be impossible without the support of strongly manned and well equipped armed forces. More than for any other nation, the USSR's political position, in Europe and throughout the world, depends on the might of the Soviet war machine. Even in internal affairs the generals and admirals have massive influence on the development of Soviet policy. - Jacket flap.