Report on the future of the Soviet Military in Eastern Europe

In May 1988, Georgi Shakhnazarov, an adviser to Mikhail Gorbachev and a champion of reform in the Soviet Union, responded to a report by Marshal Viktor G. Kulikov, the commander-in-chief of Warsaw Pact forces. In his comments, Shakhnazarov delineated in detail the problems with Kulikov's report, namely, his plan to continue building up the military even following the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty signed by Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan in 1987, an attempt on the part of both leaders to some disarmament. Kulikov, as this document suggests, favored continued militarization, while Stakhnazarov argued for reform in military measures. Some Soviet officials, like Kulikov, tried to hold onto Cold War tactics, while others, like Shakhnazarov, moved toward a relaxation in U.S.-Soviet relations.