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Putin moves to rebuild armed
forces
By Sergei Blagov
MOSCOW - President Vladimir Putin has announced
plans to reorganize the Russian armed forces to face new
security threats after the Iraq war.
The first
indications came in his annual address this month when
he said the conscript-dependent forces would be
transformed into a professional army. All units kept
permanently ready for action are to be staffed only by
volunteers by 2007, Putin announced in his speech on May
16. The term of military service for conscripts would be
cut from two years to one by 2007, he said.
The
Defense Ministry has launched a program to have 209
permanently ready units staffed by 170,000 professional
soldiers.
At present about 21 percent of
military personnel are volunteers, said General Vladimir
Konstantinov, deputy head for general staff
mobilization. This number would have to be raised to 75
percent to cut the service from two years to one, he
said at an official round table in Moscow last week.
But there are doubts whether Russia can give up
compulsory recruitment entirely. It is not necessary and
Russia cannot afford to do so, Defense Ministry advisor
Vladimir Mikhalkin told military officers in Saratov in
Central Russia last weekend.
Putin says the
country's gross national income (GNI) will double by
2010, and this will pay for modernizing the country and
its military.
"Strong, professional and
well-armed forces are needed for the successful and
peaceful development of the country," Putin said. "The
army should be able to protect Russia and its allies,
and interact effectively with armed forces of other
countries to fight common threats."
In an
apparent reference to the US-led war on Iraq, Putin said
that "certain countries" are using "strong and
well-armed forces" to expand their "zones of strategic
influence".
Putin described the Commonwealth of
Independent States - former members of the Soviet Union
- as a zone of strategic interest for Russia. Putin
mentioned terrorism, proliferation, territorial
disputes, regional and local conflicts and drug
trafficking as "real and potential" threats to the
international community. He called on the United Nations
and the "anti-terrorism community" to take a lead role
in tackling these challenges.
"Putin's pledges
to reform the army aim at reviving Russia's image as a
strong state with global reach," said Alexander
Salitsky, senior researcher at the Institute of World
Economy and International Relations in Moscow. "In
postwar Iraq and the volatile international environment,
a modern armed force is necessary to safeguard Russia's
vital interests."
The reforms of the military
are being planned both in personnel structure and in
technology. Putin was applauded when he announced in his
speech that Russia is developing a new generation of
strategic weapons to defend the country and its allies.
Putin did not say what these weapons would be. But Boris
Alyoshin, deputy prime minister in charge of the defense
industry, was quoted by the Russian Information Agency
as saying that Putin was talking about a new
"space-air-surface" defense system.
Other
reports have suggested that the defense industry is
developing a new sea-launched ballistic missile, new
bombers and air-launched long-range cruise missiles. In
a reminder of existing capabilities, Russian bombers
flew as far as the Indian Ocean this month to launch
cruise missiles during a joint exercise with the Indian
Navy.
But pledges about reform have been made
before, and most people seem to have their doubts
whether leaders will do what they promise. A recent
study by the Institute of Sociological Research at the
Russian Academy of Science indicated that only 8.5
percent of Russians believed that the situation in the
armed forces had improved during Putin's three years in
power.
A total of 44.1 percent thought the
situation has not changed, while 29.4 percent thought
the state of the army had deteriorated.
(Inter
Press Service)
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