The Russian Defence Minister, Marshal Igor Sergeyev, has said that Nato's action in Yugoslavia will lead to a re-think of Russia's own military doctrine. Closer cooperation with Ukraine and Belarus is already under discussion. But given the poor state of Russia's armed forces, the scope for change may be limited.
Military doctrine is always easier to define when a country has an identifiable enemy.
So, during the Cold War, it was clear to Moscow that Nato was perceived as a threat, and Soviet military doctrine could be constructed accordingly. As well as military theory, this meant that ballistic missiles could be targeted against Western capitals, such as Washington and London. Another was the formation of Nato's Partnership for Peace programme, in which former Soviet states and other ex-Warsaw Pact countries have played an active part, carrying out a number of joint military exercises with Nato forces. But the positive atmosphere created by these moves has worsened recently. Russia is unhappy with the entry into Nato of its former Warsaw Pact allies, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland.