Active measures is a term used to describe political warfare conducted by the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation. The term, which dates back to the 1920s, includes operations such as espionage, propaganda, sabotage and assassination, based on foreign policy objectives of the Soviet and Russian governments. Active measures have continued to be used by the administration of Vladimir Putin.
Lubyanka Building, the headquarters of KGB and later FSB
Political warfare is the use of hostile political means to compel an opponent to do one's will. The term political describes the calculated interaction between a government and a target audience, including another state's government, military, and/or general population. Governments use a variety of techniques to coerce certain actions, thereby gaining relative advantage over an opponent. The techniques include propaganda and psychological operations ("PsyOps"), which service national and military objectives respectively. Propaganda has many aspects and a hostile and coercive political purpose. Psychological operations are for strategic and tactical military objectives and may be intended for hostile military and civilian populations.
Statue of Sun Tzu (544–498 BCE) in Yurihama, Tottori, Japan. Sun Tzu, a military strategist, wrote of the superior power of political warfare in battle.
A coin of Constantine (c. 337 CE) showing a depiction of his labarum spearing a serpent.
Alexander the Great silver tetradrachm.
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