Russian Military Reform From Perestroika to Putin: Implications for U.S. Policy
Abstract
In the last 15 years, the size of the Russian armed forces has dropped 76 percent, from 5.32 million men down to 1.37 million men; the level of Russian defense spending has followed a similar slide. In 1989, the Soviet military was one of the most feared on earht. By 1994, the Russian armed forces suffered a major setback when they took on rebel fighters in Chechnya and by 1998, tanks were parked from lack of fuel and officers were working second jobs during duty hours to make ends meet. Aircraft could not fly due to lack of spare parts and ships sat rusting at their piers. In 2000, the submarine Kursk sank, in a preventable accident, with the loss of 118 lives. How did the Russian military come to be in such dire straits? What efforts were made to reform the Russian military as these problems became apparent? Have those reforms been well planned and executed or poorly done? Are things getting better? What are the future prospects for the Russian military?
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 2004
- Accession Number
- ADA427322
Entities
People
- Kris D. Beasley
Organizations
- Air University