MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti military commentator...
those war games were unprecedented in the number of troops and equipment involved. West 1981 simulated an offensive by the Soviet and allied troops in a potential war against NATO.During the next West-class exercise, held 18 years later in 1999, Russian troops simulated a conflict with NATO similar to the Yugoslav war in the spring of 1999. The 1999 war games showed that Russia"s only recourse in a possible conflict with the West was nuclear weapons, which led to major changes in plans for using nuclear weapons, especially tactical ones.
As a result, the application threshold for using nuclear weapons was lowered, and Russia actually abandoned the Soviet commitment not to be the first to use nuclear weapons.
The "legend" of West 2009, although the games are not directed against the West, takes into account the complicated relations between Russia and East European countries, as well as the likelihood of all kinds of local conflicts in the region.