Russia’s National Security Strategy 2021: Continuity and development

Abstract

The author analyzes the content of the new National Security Strategy of the Russian Federation, compares it with previous documents on national security, and determines its compliance with requirements of the law “On Strategic Planning in the Russian Federation.” 1 The article highlights the main features of the modern model of ensuring national security: the inseparable relationship and interdependence of national security and socio-economic development of the country; a focus on the factor of force and commitment to the use of political means; emphasis on the need to ensure civil peace and harmony in the country; recognition that preservation and multiplication of the people and human development is the highest national priority; and orientation to strengthening the role of the state as a guarantor of security. The author considers the recognition of national interests as the main object of national security to be the main innovations of the Strategy. The article determines the validity of assessing the current state of Russian national security given in the Strategy. It is emphasized that strengthening Russia is taking place against the background of new threats to national security that have a complex and interrelated nature. In conclusion, National Security Strategy 2021 is a basic document in the field of strategic planning for the development of the national security system; its content meets the requirements of the federal law “On Strategic Planning in the Russian Federation”; and taking into account the transformation of external and internal factors, it preserves its fundamental foundations, and creatively develops and complements them.