| Military of Russia |
| Military manpower |
| Military age |
18 years of age |
| Availability |
males age 15-49: 36 million (2003 est.) |
| Fit for military service |
males age 15-49: 24 million (2003 est.) |
| Reaching military age annually |
1.243 million (2003 est.) |
| Military expenditures |
| Dollar figure |
$14.4 billion (2000 est.) |
| Percent of GDP |
2.75 (2000 est.) |
History
Since the breakup of the Soviet Union, the Russians have discussed rebuilding a viable, cohesive fighting force out of the remaining parts of the former Soviet
armed forces. A new Russian military doctrine, promulgated in November 1993, implicitly acknowledges the contraction of the old
Soviet military into a regional military power without global imperial ambitions. In keeping with its emphasis on the threat of
regional conflicts, the doctrine calls for a Russian military that is smaller, lighter, and more mobile, with a higher degree of
professionalism and with greater rapid deployment capability. Such a transformation has proven difficult.
The challenge of this task has been magnified by difficult economic conditions in Russia, which have resulted in reduced
defense spending. This has led to training cutbacks, wage reductions, and severe shortages of housing and other social amenities
for military personnel, with a consequent lowering of morale, cohesion, and fighting effectiveness. The poor combat performance
of the Russian armed forces in the Chechen conflict in part reflects these
breakdowns. Brutal relationships, up to widespread torture, between fresh conscripts and those who have served longer (Russian
military is based on compulsory 24-month service) has led to a large number of suicides and poor discipline and morale.
Nuclear Weapons
More realistically, the Russian military doctrine, then and now, has called for the reliance on the country's strategic
nuclear forces as the primary deterrent against attack by a major power (i.e. NATO forces
or the People's Republic of China). In
keeping with this dictum, the country's nuclear forces have received adequate financing throughout the lean 1990s while the rest
of the military was cash-starved and decayed. The number of intercontinental ballistic
missiles and warheads on active duty has declined over the years, in part in keeping with arms limitation agreements with the
USA and in part due to insufficient spending on maintenance. Still, Russia maintains the largest nuclear arsenal in the world
(USA trailing slightly and China at a large distance. See List of countries with nuclear weapons). The ICBMs it has on duty would be more than
sufficient to wreak global havoc, hence serving as a very credible deterrent. See also: Russia and weapons of mass destruction
Interestingly, because of the American awareness of the danger of Russian nuclear technology falling into the hands of
terrorists or rogue officers who might want to use it to threaten or attack the West, the Pentagon has actually provided considerable financial assistance to the Russia nuclear forces over the years.
This money went in part to finance decommissioning of warheads under bilateral agreements, but also to improve security and
personnel training in Russian nuclear facilities. This may be one of the big reasons why no terrorist nuclear incidents have so
far occurred in the world despite existence of many terrorist organizations and rogue states' intelligence services who would
have been interested in acquiring nuclear technology from Russia.
Organization
The Russian military is divided into the following branches: Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force, and Strategic Rocket Forces. The
available manpower for the various branches of the Russian armed forces was estimated at 38.9 million in 2001. According to
Russian reports, in FY 2002, there will be about a 40% increase in arms procurement spending. However, even this increase is not
enough to make up for the budget shortfalls of the previous decade. Russia's struggling arms producers will, therefore, intensify
their efforts to seek sales to foreign governments.
About 70% of the former Soviet Union's defense industries are located in
the Russian Federation. A large number of state-owned defense enterprises are on the brink of collapse as a result of cuts in
weapons orders and insufficient funding to shift to production of civilian goods, while at the same time trying to meet payrolls.
Many defense firms have been privatized; some have developed significant
partnerships with United States firms.
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