The Reform Of Russia’s Conventional Armed Forces: Problems, Challenges, & Policy Implications

The Reform of Russia’s Conventional Armed Forces: Problems, Challenges and Policy Implications, traces the complex origins of the reform, its numerous twists and assesses the key challenges it faces. Roger N. McDermott examines the obstacles confronting the Russian defense planners as they seek to transform the military education system, encourage high standards among the officer corps combined with forming suitable non-commissioned officers and overcoming the weaknesses of the domestic defense industry to facilitate modernization. Moscow’s long-term political and economic support will prove necessary, while pursuit of reform is likely to result in a lengthy period of transition for the armed forces. Whether, or to what extent, such challenges are sufficiently well resolved by Moscow, will determine the Russian state’s future capability to project military power, preserve the country’s territorial integrity or validate its claims to “great power” status.

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