Small Wars Journal | Anna Varfolomeeva
Russia’s March 2026 proposal to restrict foreign AI systems like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude, ostensibly to protect “traditional Russian spiritual and moral values,” is a manifestation of a long-standing military doctrine. This doctrine, evolving since the 2011-2012 Bolotnaya protests, views values formation and collective identity as a primary security battlefield, not merely cultural terrain. Russia’s 2014 Military Doctrine formally identified information activity undermining “historical, spiritual and patriotic traditions” as a military threat. Drawing on *Voennaya Misl’*, the Russian Defense Ministry’s journal, the “mental sphere” is mapped as a battlefield where common values enable societal mobilization. This coherent, two-directional architecture hardens domestic cognitive space against external penetration through measures like sovereign internet and patriotic education, while simultaneously eroding the common identity substrate of adversary societies. For instance, Russia restricts foreign AI domestically but uses systems like ChatGPT for external influence operations targeting audiences in Africa and beyond, mirroring its Telegram strategy. The strategic endpoint is to undermine trust in social processes and state institutions, making collective political action impossible and rendering populations difficult to govern.
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