EBookClubs

Read Books & Download eBooks Full Online

EBookClubs

Read Books & Download eBooks Full Online

Book The State of the Russian Military   Current Problems

Download or read book The State of the Russian Military Current Problems written by Julia Christin Bauer and published by GRIN Verlag. This book was released on 2009-10 with total page 29 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Seminar paper from the year 2008 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Region: Russia, grade: A-, Diplomatic Academy of Vienna - School of International Studies, course: Seminar: Russia, Ukraine and the CEEC, language: English, abstract: The internal state of the army reveals that far-reaching and profound military reform cannot be achieved by pure arms build-up. It becomes clear that a new military strategy and a meaningful military reform plan are needed in order to improve its state. Sustainable change can only be achieved through numerous multi-facetted reforms that reach the military at its core. It is therefore advisable for these reform plans to not only come from the outside (namely the political administration) but additionally be co-developed within the army itself. Only in such way will it be possible to implement them fully and to minimize inefficiency, corruption, vagueness and violence, archaic structures of hierarchy and an attitude that reminds of vested rights. Finally, it has to be mentioned that the picture painted in the course of this paper is a rather negative one as its purpose is to outline weaknesses. Of course, the debated flaws and deficits are problematic and need to be addressed. Nevertheless, experts are divided when it comes to the measurement of the strength of Russia's military.

Book The Russian Military in the 21st Century

Download or read book The Russian Military in the 21st Century written by Alekseĭ Arbatov and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 28 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The very title of this monograph is quite ambiguous. On the one hand, only 3 years are left until the 21st century. This is too short a time to forecast or propose any serious change in a huge and complicated organization like the armed forces of a great power. On the other hand, each century lasts 100 years, and without a crystal ball it is impossible to predict the evolution of armed forces over such a long period, least of all at a time of dynamic and revolutionary shifts in the world's technologies, economics, the geopolitical scene, and the relative military balance between nations. Hence, in addressing the prospects for Russia's armed forces, it seems realistic to discuss the future some 10-15 years ahead, to 2010. This is an appropriate timeframe for the fulfillment of large cycles of economic and military development in Russia and in other major states. It allows consideration of the possible realignment of principal international coalitions, and it provides time to implement major weapons programs. Accordingly, with a timeframe of 10-15 years, future trends are sufficiently imbedded in present reality to be discussed without entering the world of science fiction. Present policy choices may tangibly affect developments in 10-15 years. Besides, as presently being considered, the Russian military reform initiative is planned to proceed through its first two stages through the year 2005. What happens in that process will define how the Russian military proceeds from 2005 through 2010, the third stage of the reform initiative. Within this temporal framework, the following monograph discusses Russia's military alternatives appropriate to its new security requirements, projected economic conditions, technological capabilities, and possible changes in the international situation which might affect Russia and its relationship with other major powers. Even at that, many issues relevant to the subject, like industrial and financial projections, problems of defense conversion, possible advances in military technology, demographic considerations, the draft and mobilization, have to be left out or discussed only superficially. All of these issues are part of the comprehensive notion of military reform; something larger than the narrow notion of reforming the armed forces. In this monograph, based strictly on unclassified sources, the latter topic will be the subject of analysis.

Book The Russian Army in a Time of Troubles

Download or read book The Russian Army in a Time of Troubles written by Pavel K Baev and published by SAGE. This book was released on 1996-05-03 with total page 221 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study of the Russian army and how it has fared in the uncertain transitional period since independence in December 1991 provides the basis for understanding its present and potential future role in the new political developments within Russia. Following an historical overview of Russia′s security agenda and an examination of the Russian/Soviet army′s tradition of involvement in politics, the book then examines Russia′s current security interests and the role of the army in protecting them. Geopolitical perspectives are linked to the security issues of the `Near Abroad′, and to the nuclear dimension of security. Pavel K Baev then considers the question of the feasibility of political control over the Russian army. The problem of the politicization of the army is followed through the interlinked issues of stalled military reform and a drastically reduced military budget. Baev examines the current military role of the army with case studies on conflict management in the Caucasus and the army′s performance in the role of peace-keeper in the Chechen War. Finally, the place of the army in Russia′s peace-keeping activities within a broader European context is examined.

Book The Russian Armed Forces in Transition

Download or read book The Russian Armed Forces in Transition written by Roger N. McDermott and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2012-03-15 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although the role of the military in Russia has changed significantly since Soviet times, it continues to exert great influence on Russian politics, economy and society. This book presents a comprehensive overview of current developments related to Russia’s military sector. It considers recent military reforms, personnel issues, the defence industry and procurement, the defence economy, changes in civil-military relations, and the continuing huge economic significance of Russia’s military-industrial complex. It explores difficulties currently faced by the Russian military, including problems of recruitment and leadership; analyses Russian security policy - including in relation to Europe and more widely; and discusses the lessons learned by the Russian military as a result of the recent war in Georgia. The book argues that reform attempts have often been thwarted by bureaucracy, economy, strategy, manpower, weapon systems and leadership. The book concludes by assessing likely future developments.

Book The Russian Military into the 21st Century

Download or read book The Russian Military into the 21st Century written by Stephen J. Cimbala and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-10-23 with total page 239 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This work attempts to clarify the major problems facing Russia's armed forces in the present and immediate future. It covers threats from terrorists, break away republics and threats from outside Russia's borders. The book also includes political and economic problems facing the military.

Book Trends in Russia s Armed Forces

Download or read book Trends in Russia s Armed Forces written by Keith Crane and published by Rand Corporation. This book was released on 2019-10-10 with total page 99 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The authors assess how Russian military forces are postured and resourced and how they are likely to operate. They also discuss the goals and effects of Russian military reform efforts, including initiatives that span all of the Russian armed forces’ services and independent branches. Touching on most of Russia’s armed forces’ major capabilities, the authors conclude with a look at how those capabilities are being integrated in practice.

Book The Transformation of Russian Military Doctrine

Download or read book The Transformation of Russian Military Doctrine written by Alekseĭ Georgievich Arbatov and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 68 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: " ... Paper provides an authoritative analysis of national security thinking in Moscow, as well as some pointed suggestions on how to improve relations between Russia and the West. To assist readers who may want more details from official documents, as opposed to the opinions of an individual scholar and parliamentarian, we have also included extracts from the current Russian Military Doctrine and National Security Concept."--Forward.

Book The Russian Way of War

    Book Details:
  • Author : Lester W. Grau
  • Publisher : Mentor Military
  • Release : 2018
  • ISBN : 9781940370194
  • Pages : 0 pages

Download or read book The Russian Way of War written by Lester W. Grau and published by Mentor Military. This book was released on 2018 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Force Structure, Tactics, and Modernization of the Russian Ground Forces The mighty Soviet Army is no more. The feckless Russian Army that stumbled into Chechnya is no more. Today's Russian Army is modern, better manned, better equipped and designed for maneuver combat under nuclear-threatened conditions. This is your source for the tactics, equipment, force structure and theoretical underpinnings of a major Eurasian power. Here's what the experts are saying: "A superb baseline study for understanding how and why the modern Russian Army functions as it does. Essential for specialist and generalist alike." -Colonel (Ret) David M. Glantz, foremost Western author on the Soviet Union in World War II and Editor of The Journal of Slavic Military Studies. "Congratulations to Les Grau and Chuck Bartles on filling a gap which has yawned steadily wider since the end of the USSR. Their book addresses evolving Russian views on war, including the blurring of its nature and levels, and the consequent Russian approaches to the Ground Forces' force structuring, manning, equipping, and tactics. Confidence is conferred on the validity of their arguments and conclusions by copious footnoting, mostly from an impressive array of primary sources. It is this firm grounding in Russian military writings, coupled with the authors' understanding of war and the Russian way of thinking about it, that imparts such an authoritative tone to this impressive work." -Charles Dick, former Director of the Combat Studies Research Centre, Senior Fellow at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom, author of the 1991 British Army Field Manual, Volume 2, A Treatise on Soviet Operational Art and author of From Victory to Stalemate The Western Front, Summer 1944 and From Defeat to Victory, The Eastern Front, Summer 1944. "Dr. Lester Grau's and Chuck Bartles' professional research on the Russian Armed Forces is widely read throughout the world and especially in Russia. Russia's Armed Forces have changed much since the large-scale reforms of 2008, which brought the Russian Army to the level of the world's other leading armies. The speed of reform combined with limited information about their core mechanisms represented a difficult challenge to the authors. They have done a great job and created a book which could be called an encyclopedia of the modern armed forces of Russia. They used their wisdom and talents to explore vital elements of the Russian military machine: the system of recruitment and training, structure of units of different levels, methods and tactics in defense and offence and even such little-known fields as the Arctic forces and the latest Russian combat robotics." -Dr. Vadim Kozyulin, Professor of Military Science and Project Director, Project on Asian Security, Emerging Technologies and Global Security Project PIR Center, Moscow. "Probably the best book on the Russian Armed Forces published in North America during the past ten years. A must read for all analysts and professionals following Russian affairs. A reliable account of the strong and weak aspects of the Russian Army. Provides the first look on what the Russian Ministry of Defense learned from best Western practices and then applied them on Russian soil." -Ruslan Pukhov, Director of the Moscow-based Centre for the Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (CAST) and member of the Public Council of the Russian Federation Ministry of Defense. Author of Brothers Armed: Military Aspects of the Crisis in Ukraine, Russia's New Army, and The Tanks of August.

Book Routledge Handbook of Russian Security

Download or read book Routledge Handbook of Russian Security written by Roger E. Kanet and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-01-15 with total page 424 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Routledge Handbook of Russian Security offers a comprehensive collection of essays on all aspects of Russian security and foreign policy by international scholars from across the world. The volume identifies key contemporary topics of research and debate and takes into account the changes that have occurred in the study of Russian security strategy since the end of the Cold War. The handbook is organised into five sections: The theory and nature of Russian security policy The domestic and foreign policy nexus Instruments used by Russia in pursuing its security Global and regional aspects of Russian security and foreign policy Case studies of Russian involvement in a series of security conflicts. The book concludes with case studies of the major examples of Russian involvement and operations in a series of security conflicts, including that in Georgia, the intervention in Ukraine and occupation of Crimea, and the ongoing Civil War in Syria. This volume will be of great interest to students of Russian security, strategic studies, foreign policy, European politics, and International Relations in general.

Book Russia Reports  Volume 3    Review of Military  Security  Defense  and Armed Forces Issues   Topics Covered Include Defense Minister Shoygu  Rosoboroneksport Arms Sales  National Security Concepts

Download or read book Russia Reports Volume 3 Review of Military Security Defense and Armed Forces Issues Topics Covered Include Defense Minister Shoygu Rosoboroneksport Arms Sales National Security Concepts written by Department of Defense and published by . This book was released on 2017-09-14 with total page 377 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Twelve reports, studies, and documents provide special insight into the Russian military, with detailed discussions of vital topics which are of particular interest during the ongoing crisis involving Russian aggression against Crimea and the Ukraine. Reports in this compendium: Russian Political, Economic, and Security Issues and U.S. Interests * Russia's Emergency Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu - A Bio-Sketch * The Brain of the Russian Army: Futuristic Visions Tethered by the Past * Rosoboroneksport: Arms Sales and the Structure of Russian Defense Industry * Russia's Demographic Crisis and the Military: Strategic Impact and Security Implications in the 21st Century * Russian Defense Reform: Current Trends * Russian-American Security Cooperation after St. Petersburg: Challenges and Opportunities * Understanding Security Cooperation: A Comparison of the US and Russian Systems of Security Cooperation * The Bear Facts: Russians Appraise the Stryker Brigade Concept * Threats to Russian Security: The View from Moscow * Russia's Armed Forces on the Brink of Reform * The United States and Russia into the 21st Century.Russia's armed forces now number less than 1 million, down from 4.3 million Soviet troops in 1986. In the 1990s and much of the 2000s, troop readiness, training, morale, and discipline suffered, and most arms industries became antiquated. Russia's economic growth in recent years has supported greatly increased defense spending to restructure the armed forces and improve their quality. Mismanagement, changes in plans, corruption, manning issues, and economic constraints have complicated this restructuring.If the 'state is the soul writ large,' then Sergey Shoygu serves as an apt metaphor for Russia today. Shoygu was trained as an engineer in the Soviet system and arrived in Moscow just as the USSR began to fall apart. For more than 20 years, as the Minister of Emergency Services, he served as Russia's 'first responder.' In this capacity, Shoygu helped to deal with natural and man-made disasters, gaining an intimate knowledge of the country's domestic challenges and the reputation of a pragmatic and effective leader. As a resourceful minister and politician, he also profited from his proximity to the Kremlin elite, strengthening regional and national ties and developing sharp survival skills to ensure his official longevity.Clearly, the rebuilding of Russian military strength is a high priority of President Vladimir Putin, and one to which he and his subordinates have devoted considerable time and resources. Therefore, inattention to Russian defense policy is unwise and even dangerous because it causes us to overlook potentially major changes not only in Russian policy, but in international affairs more generally. Dr. Irina Isakova's monograph represents an effort to overcome our neglect and provide readers a comprehensive account of the defense reform, or what Moscow calls optimization. It encompasses virtually all aspects of the reform of the forces, their organizational structure, the financing of the military, reform of the defense industrial sector, etc. This topic is both timely and particularly relevant and provides a significant addition to the series.The demographic crisis in Russia limits the policy options available to its political and military leaders and creates havoc for the international community as to how it could and should deal with Russia as a major power on the world stage. The post-September 11th environment requires greater cooperation and alliances among nations to combat a growing number of trans-national and asymmetrical threats such as terrorism, insurgencies, nuclear proliferation, and the trafficking of drugs and people. A strong and stable Russia is a critical component in the on-going efforts of the free world to re-shape the global security landscape to meet the new and emerging threats of the 21St century.

Book Assessing Russia s Decline

Download or read book Assessing Russia s Decline written by Olga Oliker and published by Rand Corporation. This book was released on 2002-11-26 with total page 153 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What challenges does today's Russia pose for the United States and the U.S. Air Force? If certain economic, military, social, and political negative trends in Russia continue, they may create a new set of dangers that might prove more real, and therefore more frightening, than the far-off specter of Russian attack ever was. In a number of scenarios, the U.S. Air Force is certain to be called upon for transportation and perhaps for various military missions in a very demanding environment.

Book Russia s Military Interventions

Download or read book Russia s Military Interventions written by Samuel Charap and published by Rand Corporation. This book was released on 2021-09-27 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Moscow's use of its military abroad in recent years has radically reshaped perceptions of Russia as an international actor. With the 2014 annexation of Crimea, the invasion of eastern Ukraine and sustainment of an insurgency there, and (in particular) the 2015 intervention in Syria, Russia repeatedly surprised U.S. policymakers with its willingness and ability to use its military to achieve its foreign policy objectives. Despite Russia's relatively small global economic footprint, it has engaged in more interventions than any other U.S. competitor since the end of the Cold War. In this report, the authors assess when, where, and why Russia conducts military interventions by analyzing the 25 interventions that Russia has undertaken since 1991, including detailed case studies of the 2008 Russia-Georgia War and Moscow's involvement in the ongoing Syrian civil war. The authors suggest that Russia is most likely to intervene to prevent erosion of its influence in its neighborhood, particularly following a shock that portends such an erosion occurring rapidly. If there were to be a regime change in a core Russian regional ally, such as Belarus or Armenia, that brought to power a government hostile to Moscow's interests, it is possible (if not likely) that a military intervention could ensue.

Book Russia   s Military Modernisation  An Assessment

Download or read book Russia s Military Modernisation An Assessment written by The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-09-29 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This new IISS Strategic Dossier examines the recent development of Moscow’s armed forces and military capabilities. It analyses the aspirations underpinning Russia’s military reform programme and its successes as well as its failures. The book also provides insights into Russia’s operational use of its armed forces, including in the intervention in Syria, the goals and results of recent state armament programmes, and the trajectory of future developments. This full-colour volume includes more than 50 graphics, maps and charts and over 70 images, and contains chapters on: Russia's armed forces since the end of the Cold War Strategic forces Ground forces Naval forces Aerospace forces Russia’s approach to military decision-making and joint operations Economics and industry At a time when Russia’s relations with many of its neighbours are increasingly strained, and amid renewed concern about the risk of an armed clash, this dossier is essential reading for understanding the state,capabilities and future of Russia’s armed forces.

Book The Kremlin Playbook

Download or read book The Kremlin Playbook written by Heather A. Conley and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2016-10-27 with total page 86 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Russia has cultivated an opaque web of economic and political patronage across the Central and Eastern European region that the Kremlin uses to influence and direct decisionmaking. This report from the CSIS Europe Program, in partnership with the Bulgarian Center for the Study of Democracy, is the result of a 16-month study on the nature of Russian influence in five case countries: Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Latvia, and Serbia.

Book The Culture of Military Innovation

Download or read book The Culture of Military Innovation written by Dima Adamsky and published by Stanford University Press. This book was released on 2010-01-27 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book studies the impact of cultural factors on the course of military innovations. One would expect that countries accustomed to similar technologies would undergo analogous changes in their perception of and approach to warfare. However, the intellectual history of the Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA) in Russia, the US, and Israel indicates the opposite. The US developed technology and weaponry for about a decade without reconceptualizing the existing paradigm about the nature of warfare. Soviet 'new theory of victory' represented a conceptualization which chronologically preceded technological procurement. Israel was the first to utilize the weaponry on the battlefield, but was the last to develop a conceptual framework that acknowledged its revolutionary implications. Utilizing primary sources that had previously been completely inaccessible, and borrowing methods of analysis from political science, history, anthropology, and cognitive psychology, this book suggests a cultural explanation for this puzzling transformation in warfare. The Culture of Military Innovation offers a systematic, thorough, and unique analytical approach that may well be applicable in other perplexing strategic situations. Though framed in the context of specific historical experience, the insights of this book reveal important implications related to conventional, subconventional, and nonconventional security issues. It is therefore an ideal reference work for practitioners, scholars, teachers, and students of security studies.

Book The Russian Military Today and Tomorrow   Putin  Russian Navy  Ukraine  Gazprom  Rosneft  Lavrov  Deep Operations  Campaign Design  Russian Chinese Security Relations  Mafia and Arms Dealers

Download or read book The Russian Military Today and Tomorrow Putin Russian Navy Ukraine Gazprom Rosneft Lavrov Deep Operations Campaign Design Russian Chinese Security Relations Mafia and Arms Dealers written by Department of Defense and published by . This book was released on 2017-03-04 with total page 295 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Two excellent studies from the U.S. Army's Strategic Studies Institute provide unique insights into the current state of the Russian military. Topics and subjects covered include: Putin's Navy, Ukraine, Gazprom, Rosneft, the Russian-Georgian Conflict, Russian-Chinese Security Relations, Lavrov, Iran, Chechnya, Russian Mafia and Arms Dealers, Blitzkrieg, Deep Operations, campaign design, Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces, South Ossetia, Siloviki, Yukos, and more. The Russian Military Today and Tomorrow - Contents include: 1. "No Need to Threaten Us, We Are Frightened of Ourselves," Russia's Blueprint for a Police State, The New Security Strategy * 2. Is Military Reform in Russia for "Real"? Yes, But * 3. Operational Art and the Curious Narrative on the Russian Contribution: Presence and Absence Over the Last 2 Decades. * 4. Russian Information Warfare Theory: The Consequences of August 2008 * 5. Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces and Arms Control: Deja Vu All Over Again * 6. The Challenge of Understanding the Russian Navy * 7. Russian Military Challenges Toward Central-East Europe * 8. Russian-Chinese Security Relations: Constant and Changing - Western interest in this field sharply declined after the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. To many, the issues and questions involved in this field, not to mention the effort connected with obtaining funding for such study, seemed to be irrelevant and not worth the time spent in doing so. Yet, recent events have shown that this approach is seriously misguided and involves major costs to the United States and its allies. Of course, it is by now a truism to say that the Russo-Georgian war of 2008 demonstrated to all observers that "Russia was back," if they had not realized that before. But in fact, as Stephen Blank points out in Chapter 2, Russian military and political leaders well before then believed that Russia was at risk in both military and nonmilitary ways. Some went so far as to say that the country was, in effect, already in an information war against the West. We often underestimate the impact of the Russian leadership's perception that Russia is intrinsically at risk, and in some sense under attack, from the West. That underestimation leads us astray, conceptually but also politically. It causes us to ignore some of the most vital and foundational issues in Russian defense policy, e.g., the relationship between the military and the civilian government and the importance of doctrinal statements and threat assessments. Civil-Military Relations in Medvedev's Russia - The Russian military has successfully persuaded the government to accept its expansive concept of the threats to Russia, i.e., its threat assessment. That threat assessment is one that postulates growing military threats from without, mainly from the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), an increased likelihood of the incidence of war, and, in general, a presupposition of political, if not military, conflict with the West that preserves the state of siege in world politics inaugurated by Vladimir Lenin. Moreover, this threat assessment also postulates increasing domestic threats to the security of the present political order and links those threats, as would a Leninist approach, to the same external adversaries, if not enemies, postulated in the external threat assessment. Yet despite this structural militarization of Russia's cognitive and policy approach to its security dilemmas, the military has only partly succeeded in convincing the government to accept its answers to these dilemmas. Those answers essentially entail returning to a form of mobilization even though defense spending, in a bow to the military, will reach unprecedented levels in 2010 despite the current economic crisis. This situation of inflated threat assessments leading to pro-military policy outcomes is a direct result of the enduring failure to establish democratic controls.

Book Military Modernization and the Russian Ground Forces

Download or read book Military Modernization and the Russian Ground Forces written by Rod Thornton and published by . This book was released on 2011-06-01 with total page 66 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This monograph examines the recent process of organizational change in the Russian ground forces. It begins by charting the whole post-Soviet military reform debate. This debate was dominated, on the one hand, by those seeking to make the armed forces more professional, flexible, and adroit-and thus better suited to the security demands of a major 21st-century power-and, on the other hand, by senior military figures wedded to the concepts of mass and a conscriptbased military. It was actually only after the war with Georgia in 2008, and when military opposition was weakened, that change within the ground forces could begin in earnest. New command tiers were established, divisions became brigades, and the idea of absorbing professional soldiers into the ground forces was refined. The problems of generating a suitable corps of non commissioned officers, of training suitable officers, and of marrying equipment to strategic need are all issues covered here. This work concludes with the thought that even though the changes being introduced in the ground forces look dramatic, they cannot be implemented overnight. The road towards fundamental change where Russia's ground forces are concerned will be quite a long one.Change is not a common commodity in Russia. The country, whether as Tsarist Russia, the Soviet Union, or as today's democratic manifestation, is not one characterized by entrepreneurship, drive, and innovation. Rather, as any historian of this land would aver, it is one beset by torpor, indolence, and conservatism. So the current ambition of the political leadership in Russia to push through a state-wide process of modernizatsiya (modernization) is bound to be one that, to a large degree, must fall on deaf ears. And while the main target of this process is obviously the economy, the Russian military has also been asked to undertake considerable reform. For the political leaders involved in trying to push through such reform, the task has naturally not been easy. The military hierarchy in Russia, itself imbued with considerable institutional power, has been doing its best to stand against change; against those reforms that threaten not just the comfort of familiar strategies, structures, and standard operating procedures, but also the individual stakes of senior officers within the various military organizations. Ultimately, the proposed reforms threaten the very jobs of such officers. The Russian military, as a whole, does not want to modernize; or rather it does not want to be "modernized" in the way that its political masters want. The aim here is to analyze this current process of Russian military modernization. More specifically, this work is concerned with examining modernization in the Russian army; and particularly in the ground 2 forces. While making occasional comments about the airborne forces, this is an arm of service separate from the ground forces. In this monograph, the term "army" will be used to include both airborne and ground forces. As a point of detail, the Russian word armiya is often mistranslated as "army," when it actually means all of the country's armed forces, i.e., the range of armed services controlled by the Ministry of Defense (MoD)-including the navy and the air force. This causes some confusion for Western analysts, particularly in trying to establish the actual manpower figures that relate to the armiya. Such an issue is compounded by the tendency of Russian observers and analysts to be somewhat inaccurate with their use of figures.