Reforma Sił Zbrojnych FR pod nowym kierownictwem. Kontrrewolucji nie będzie
Reform of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation under new leadership. There will be no counter-revolution

Author(s): Andrzej Wilk
Subject(s): Security and defense, Military policy
Published by: OSW Ośrodek Studiów Wschodnich im. Marka Karpia
Keywords: Russian Military; Russian Army;
Summary/Abstract: The change in the position of the Russian Defense Minister in November 2012, carried out amidst a corruption scandal, aroused expectations among some of the Russian elite that a reform as initiated during Anatoly Serdyukov's term of office will take place, which would eliminate the remnants of the Soviet army and make the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation similar to the modern armies of Western countries,. Contrary to expectations, the new head of the ministry, Sergei Shoigu, did not carry out a personnel purge and maintained civilian control over the ministry's finances. The actions of the new management and the announced corrections, although they concern various areas - mainly the reform of military education and military health service - refer to issues related to the current course of privatization of the property of the Ministry of Defence. They are in the nature of cleaning up after the corruption scandals that directly contributed to Serdyukov's dismissal. This is despite numerous voices calling on Shoigu to suspend or even reverse the changes, especially those concerning the command structure and manning system. However, the actions undertaken by the newly appointed Chief of the General Staff, General Valery Gerasimov, and the First Deputy Minister, General Arkady Bachin, allow us to assume that the reform of the Russian army in the strictly military sphere will continue in accordance with its current assumptions. The pace of reforming the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation will be determined solely by the organizational and financial capabilities of the Russian state, above all by solving the problems between the defense ministry and the armaments industry, directly affecting the implementation of a large-scale, costly technical modernization.

• Details
• Contents