#14
Vremya MN
November 23, 2001
DISINTEGRATION OF THE ARMY AS A CONSEQUENCE OF THE
MILITARY REFORMS?
Author: Valery Batuyev
Putin's directive is too dangerous to carry out
[from WPS Monitoring Agency, www.wps.ru/e_index.html]
THE ARMED FORCES WILL DISINTEGRATE FIVE YEARS FROM NOW IF THE GOVERNMENT STARTS IMPLEMENTING PUTIN'S POLITICAL DECLARATION ABOUT A PROFESSIONAL ARMY. WHERE IS RUSSIA GOING TO GET THE MONEY FOR A PROFESSIONAL ARMY IF OIL PRICES, ON WHICH THE FEDERAL BUDGET DEPENDS, KEEP FALLING?
Andrei Nikolayev, Chairman of the Defense Committee of the Duma, backed up Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov who had recently found himself opposing the government. Nikolayev and Ivanov are certain that "it is wrong to carry out so many experiments in the same sphere all at once, because the consequences will be dire." According to Nikolayev, President Vladimir Putin's idea of a professional army lacks a material, social, and legal foundation.
The Russian Constitution and "military" laws do not mention a professional army even once. Of course, amending the existing laws is not difficult. The financial problems that are much more serious. Where is Russia going to get the money for a professional army if oil prices, on which the federal budget depends, keep falling? The government lacks money for more than rearmament of the Armed Forces alone. Officers are paid paltry salaries (two to three thousand rubles a month). Soldiers are like slaves, paid only one (!) ruble a day. Putin promised to raised salaries as of January 1, but they will be raised by only 300 rubles at best. Some additional allowances are stipulated as of July 1 but servicemen will be stripped of their benefits at the same time. It means the army is going to consider itself tricked again.
A professional army requires a new infrastructure. Proper cantonments are needed because "you'll never drive contract servicemen into the dilapidated barracks," as a senior officer put it. Nothing is clear with how and where the government intends to recruit men into the professional army in the light of its plans to reduce the Armed Forces by 280,000 officers and contract servicemen in the near future already. Moreover, the government plans to abolish conscription altogether. All these conflicting intentions will seriously undermine defense capacity of the country, Nikolayev warns.
Reforms in the Armed Forces are slowed down by the lack of finances. If the Defense Ministry proceeded with creation of a professional army now on the orders from the Kremlin, Russia will eventually find itself without an army. To avoid all these dire consequences, Nikolayev suggests that officers are not dismissed from the army, conscription is reduced, and special attention is paid to the mobilizational reserves. Nikolayev does not object to a professional army in principle but says it should be done step-by- step. Nikolayev says aviation, border guards marine force, missile troops, and Internal Troops may shift to service by contract at first. In his opinion, it will take years to make all of the Armed Forces professional. "The psychology of the contract serviceman needs to be changed first," Nikolayev says. "He should sign up because of his desire to defend the nation, not because of his future salary."
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