text: Soviet nilit€ry doctrine lras that a vorld war - if initiated by inperialist aggressors - "inevitably l'ouJ.d take the forn of a nuclear nissil-e var", f!/ ThoEe statements ind.icated that the concepts of deterrence a.nd. nassive retaLiation played an impo"tant part in Soviet thinking at the time. 323. These s.nd. other stateuents vere folLowed LD 1962 by the publication by Marshal V. D. Sokolovsky of a conprehensive vork on nilitary strategy, Here, the devastating effect of nucLean weapons was ful1y recognizerl, as refl as the revolution of rnifitary strategy that they had caused, One centr€l tbesis was that a war whele the super-Povers were involvecl inevitably vould escalate to a general nuclear war: "It shoull be emphasized. tbat, $ith the international- reLations existing rDder present-day cond.itions and. tbe present l-eveL of alevelolm.ent of military equipnent i any armeal conflict vifl inevitably escalate into a general nuclear war if the nuclear Powers are ctraun into this cobflict." l+0/ 32)+. Regariling var against the Soviet Union, l'lr. Sokolovsky wrote: "ff a war against the USSR or any other social-ist country is unleashed by the inperialist bloc, such a wa,r vilI unavoidably take the nature of a vorfal var with the ndority of tbe countries in the vorkl participating in it.tt l+l/ In 1963, however, a nev edition of lur. Sokolovsky I I wolk appeared, While the second edition - as well as subsequently the third - stil1 containetl ilescriptions of fi:ture vars that generally stressed. their escalatoly ns.ture, some changes in the te:d inplied a more ftexibld aiiproach. In the above quotation, the words "wi11 unavoiilably" vere replaced. by I'nightrr. Tbe foLLoving atldition to ttre second edition also iLlustrates an increasing flexibility as to the use of strategic or tactical nuclear seapons 'thus ind.icating possibilities other than sinply strategic nassive retaliation:
analysis: This text appears to be discussing military strategy and doctrine, specifically in the context of the Cold War. The language used is technical and focused on the concept of nuclear war, deterrence, and retaliation. The text also mentions the Soviet Union and the imperialist bloc, indicating a historical and international context. Given the content and tone of the text, it seems likely that it falls under a category related to defense, security, or international relations.