Hybridkrigföringens hantverk: En fallstudie om Krimkrisen 2014

Sammanfattning: The main aim of this thesis is to connect the theoretical concept of Hybrid Warfare, with the Russian military doctrine, and the historical deception concept of Maskirovka, in a case study, analysing the Russian annexation of the Crimea peninsula in 2014. Hybrid warfare has been an intensely debated topic, where a good many scholars claiming it to be neither an entirely new concept, nor a helpful analytical perspective for war studies. I dissent from this view, and argue hybrid warfare to be an effective analytical lens, through which russian military actions in the Putin era, can be identified and understood. The incumbent Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Federation, Valery Gerasimov, wrote a widely circulated article in 2013, later known as the ”Gerasimov Doctrine”, detailing his vision for a modernised warfare strategy, apparently affirming a new orientation of the Russian Armed Forces towards hybrid warfare as the prime military strategic toolbox. In conclusion, the Crimean crisis 2014 showcased the new military strategy of the Russian Federation as outlined by Gerasimov in 2013. The annexation of Crimea was the result of a Russian Hybrid Warfare campaign, applied in line with the traditional Maskirovka deception practices of the Soviet era.