On the Art of Military Leadership (original Indonesian title: Kepemimpinan Militer "Military Leadership") is a two-volume work by Prabowo Subianto, now the Indonesian President. First published in Bahasa Indonesia in 2021/2022, it was released in a Russian translation with the title Ob iskusstve voennogo liderstva (ÃÂñ øÃÂúÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂòõ òþõýýþóþ ûøôõÃÂÃÂÃÂòð "On the Art of Military Leadership") in 2025 to coincide with Subianto's state visit to the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. The current president of the country was formerly defence minister and he is to some extent a theorist of armed conflicts and armed confrontations. The book combines autobiographical writing, military theory, and cultural-political commentary.
Written during SubiantoâÂÂs term as Minister of Defense, the work is structured in two volumes. The first volume presents portraits of influential military figures and formative personalities who inspired Subianto during his careerâÂÂcomrades, superiors, and Indonesian national heroes such as Kertanegara, Gajah Mada, Prince Diponegoro, Sukarno, and General Sudirman. Subianto recounts his own military experiences, from his early days as a lieutenant to leading special forces units and eventually serving as defense minister. The chapters also reveal lesser-known episodes from Indonesian military history.
The second volume offers a comparative analysis of prominent leaders across different eras and cultures, including Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great, Sunzi, Salahuddin al-Ayyubi, Genghis Khan, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Simón BolÃÂvar, Zhu De, Emiliano Zapata, Võ Nguyên Giáp, George Washington, Nelson Mandela, and Russian and Soviet commanders such as Mikhail Kutuzov, Georgy Zhukov, and Konstantin Rokossovsky. Subianto examines leadership principles, character traits, and moral attitudes that, in his view, legitimize military authority. The book also reflects on flawed and destructive models of leadership.
About the Chinese military strategist Marshal Zhu De (1886âÂÂ1976) it was said, for example (in English translation):<blockquote>What I admire most about Zhu is his contribution to guerrilla warfare theory. Although Mao often receives more praise for this, it was actually Zhu who had the military education and experience needed to conduct guerrilla warfare. It was this background that Zhu used to lead the CCPâÂÂs unconventional war. The strategy implemented by Zhu inspired and was followed by dozens of guerrilla movements from the second half of the 20th century to the present.</blockquote>
Subianto blends personal anecdotes with reflections on virtues such as discipline, self-sacrifice, and loyalty. Local proverbsâÂÂsuch as âÂÂWork hard, do not seek excessive profit; the welfare of the people and the nation stands above allâÂÂâÂÂserve as ethical touchstones throughout the text. The book is aimed at junior officers, military professionals, historians, and the general public.
The original Indonesian edition was published by PT Media Pandu Bangsa in 2021 and 2022. The Russian translation, overseen by the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, was released in 2025 with support from a former Russian ambassador to Jakarta. Its publication coincided with Prabowo SubiantoâÂÂs state visit to Russia, marking a gesture of strategic partnership and cultural diplomacy.
On the Art of Military Leadership is more than a treatise on military doctrine. It serves as a political and ideological statement by a former general and current head of state, articulating themes of national identity, historical continuity, and IndonesiaâÂÂs geopolitical positioning in the 21st century.
On June 19 2025 a Russian-Indonesian high-level meeting in Saint Petersburg marked an significant event in the diplomatic relations of the two countries, which celebrated their 75th anniversary. For this the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the scientific-analytical portal âÂÂEastern Tribuneâ (ÃÂþÃÂÃÂþÃÂýðàÃÂÃÂøñÃÂýð) have timed the publication in Russian of the memoirs.
In response to claims that Russia would be an unreliable ally because it did not stand up for Iran, the Russian president Vladimir Putin cited the work of Prabowo Subianto in a discussion with the words: ëÃÂðöôðàÃÂÃÂÃÂðýð ýõÃÂÃÂàÃÂþñÃÂÃÂòõýýÃÂàþÃÂòõÃÂÃÂÃÂòõýýþÃÂÃÂà÷ð ÃÂþ, ÃÂÃÂþ ÿÃÂþøÃÂàþôøààýõÃÂû ("Every country bears its own responsibility for what happens within it").
The chapters of the works are (in free English translation)
Volume I
Volume II