Political warfare in the context of "Psychological warfare"

Active measures (Russian: активные мероприятия, romanized: aktivnye meropriyatiya) 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.

Strategic communication is the purposeful use of communication by an organization to reach a specific goal. Organizations like governments, corporations, NGOs and militaries seeking to communicate a concept, process, or data to satisfy their organizational or strategic goals will use strategic communication. The modern process features advanced planning, international telecommunications, and dedicated global network assets. Targeted organizational goals can include commercial, non-commercial, military business, combat, political warfare and logistic goals. Strategic communication can either be internal or external to the organization. The interdisciplinary study of strategic communications includes organizational communication, management, military history, mass communication, PR, advertising and marketing.

Public affairs is a term for the formal offices of the branches of the United States Department of Defense whose purpose is to deal with the media and community issues. The term is also used for numerous media relations offices that are created by the U.S. military for more specific limited purposes. Public affairs offices are staffed by a combination of officers, enlisted personnel, civilian officials and contract professionals.

While modern military public affairs emphasizes transparency and the provision of factual information, it operates within a broader historical and strategic context that includes the use of propaganda. Propaganda is defined as the deliberate, systematic attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate cognitions, and direct behavior to achieve a response that furthers the desired intent of the propagandist. It has long been a tool of statecraft and warfare. For instance, during World War II, the U.S. government established the Office of War Information to produce posters, films, and other materials designed to unify public opinion, conserve resources, and mobilize the workforce. In contemporary military doctrine, these principles are foundational to areas like information operations, defined as the integrated employment of information-related capabilities to influence, disrupt, corrupt, or usurp the decision-making of adversaries. and political warfare, which seeks to influence foreign audiences and adversaries, often exploiting digital technologies to shape perceptions and achieve strategic objectives.

The propaganda of the Russian Federation promotes views, perceptions or agendas of the government. The media include state-run outlets and online technologies, and may involve using "Soviet-style 'active measures' as an element of modern Russian 'political warfare'". Notably, contemporary Russian propaganda promotes the cult of personality of Vladimir Putin and positive views of Soviet history. Russia has established a number of organizations, such as the Presidential Commission of the Russian Federation to Counter Attempts to Falsify History to the Detriment of Russia's Interests (active 2009-2012), the Russian web brigades, and others that engage in political propaganda to promote the views of the Russian government.