THE RUSSIAN MILITARY: TOO MANY CHIEFS, NOT ENOUGH INDIANS.

Publication: Monitor Volume: 3 Issue: 37

Defense Minister Igor Rodionov said yesterday that commissioned officers would account for nearly 70,000 of the 200,000 people to be cut from the armed forces this year. (Itar-Tass, February 20) This ratio is in line with Western estimates that officers make up nearly one-half of all the armed forces’ uniformed personnel — a proportion far in excess of that in other countries. First the Soviet and now the Russian armed forces have always been weak in the senior enlisted ranks and officers have traditionally done many of the manual and technical jobs handled by NCOs in other armies. Moreover, the loss of officers this year might be even more than Rodionov’s estimate. Many Russian officers are serving 5-year contracts that will expire this year. Polls have indicated that less than half the officers involved plan to renew those contracts. (Trud, February 11)

Although Suspended, Semenov Still Speaks His Mind.