#3
Vremya MN
August 29, 2002
A PLOY FOR THE PRESIDENT
Military reforms have no effect on the major problems of the Russian army
Author: Viktor Litovkin
[from WPS Monitoring Agency, www.wps.ru/e_index.html]

INDEPENDENT EXPERTS SAY THAT THE QUALITY OF MILITARY PERSONNEL IS DETERIORATING. TWICE A YEAR, RUSSIA DRAFTS YOUNG MEN WHO SHOULD NEVER BE DRAFTED OR GIVEN ACCESS TO WEAPONS: DRUG ADDICTS, ALCOHOLICS, MENTALLY DISTURBED YOUTHS, OTHERS WHO HAVE DROPPED OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL AND NEVER HELD A JOB.

The military reforms are being hampered by funding shortages, as usual

The timing couldn't have been better (or worse, depending on one's point of view). President Vladimir Putin visited the 212th Guards Peschanka Training Center in the Siberian Military District, observers a tactical exercise, and viewed with interest the standard equipment of the Ground Forces. On the same day, two deserters were found and arrested in the Caucasus: they had shot an entire border patrol unit on the border between Ingushetia and Georgia.

In a speech to special forces in Siberia, Putin complained that Russian television didn't show enough quality programs about the armed forces. "They may be much more interesting than Western blockbusters," the president said. They may indeed - provided the truth about the armed forces is shown.

The hard facts cannot be denied. Servicemen are killing their own comrades, deserting, opening fire on police officers and innocent civilians, and getting drunk. That applies to conscripts, contract soldiers, and sometimes even officers. Such incidents occur almost every day. They can no longer be attributed to cruelty in the barracks alone, nor to incompetent commanders.

Independent experts say that the quality of military personnel is deteriorating. In other words, twice a year Russia drafts young men who should never be drafted or given access to weapons: drug addicts, alcoholics, mentally disturbed youths, others who have dropped out of high school and never held a job. The eternal Russian question: what is to be done? Where can we find the conscripts we need - physically, mentally, and morally healthy men with a strong sense of responsibility and at least a high school diploma?

Some lawmakers advocate abolishing deferments for college students as the only remedy. Other deputies, mostly right-wingers, insist on an immediate transition from conscription to contract service. The idea is great. The 76th Airborne Division in Pskov begins the experiment on September 1. The government and the military have already reported what shall be done and how.

While touring the Russian Far East and Siberia, Putin expressed his doubts about the success of the experiment. It isn't hard to understand why. The Pskov experiment, which aims to move a single division from conscription to contract service, will cost the state 2.6 billion rubles - of which 2.1 billion rubles will be spent on providing apartments for future contract soldiers. Deputy Defense Minister General Alexander Kosovan says that 2,100 apartments are needed. The government has found 600 million rubles for this purpose in 2002; and another 1.5 billion rubles is somewhere in the 2003 federal budget. It is also necessary to do something for the 503rd Regiment, which has moved to Ingushetia to reinforce the border guards; and to modernize the Plesetsk space launch center; and continue building many other vital facilities. Where can the state find the money?

There is one other question. Who will be tempted to enlist as a contract soldier for 3,090 rubles a month? It will be difficult to find physically, mentally, and morally healthy men ready to join the army for this sort of money. In other words, we will have no one to make patriotic movies about.

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