In the author's opinion, the reason that gave rise to a whole series of such large-scale catastrophic defeats of the Red Army at the beginning of World War II was an extremely unfavorable combination of several factors. Firstly, this was a direct consequence of the erroneous provisions of the Soviet military doctrine on the nature of the outbreak of a future war with Germany. Secondly, the military catastrophe was the result of the low combat effectiveness of the Red Army. Thirdly, the mistakes of the country's political leadership in determining the timing of the fascist attack on the USSR.