#8
Moscow News
April 30-May 5, 2003
Army To Go Contract
Kakha Kakhiani, Viktor Miasnikov

The latest session of the Cabinet of Ministers examined the main provisions of a federal program to put a part of the RF Armed Forces on a contract basis

The final draft military reform is to be approved in early June so that it could be included into the 2004 budget. In all, the program, calculated for the 2004-07 period, sees approximately 200 standby military units and formations with a total of 176,500 personnel being put on a contract basis. This core force will ensure the country's security, serve in the hot spots, and immediately respond to any threats. The central point of the program for the public at large is a possible reduction of the term of conscript service and subsequent abandonment of conscription altogether. Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov expressed readiness to consider the matter, but not until after 2007. A draftee will take a six-month training course and then hone his combat skills. This approach is shared by Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov. The plan is opposed by the Union of Right Forces, or SPS, which insists on a maximum of six months of conscript service.

Russia has never had a professional, hired military, so it is hard to tell what the plan will add up to in practice. The measure is basically forced. A mere 10 percent of the draft base - the most marginal element - is called up. By 2008 the demographic situation will merely get worse, and only a reduction in the term of conscript service as well as abolition of all draft exemptions could rectify the situation.

Army Gen. Andrei Nikolaev, chairman of the State Committee for Defense, believes that "the country's geopolitical situation is such that a 300,000- to 400,000-strong professional military will be insufficient to defend Russia's interests. Moreover, a well trained reserve will be necessary, which can only be raised through conscription."

A U.S. contract serviceman makes $20,000 to $23,000 a year plus $600 a month for every month of fighting, given that the average income per family member in the United States is approximately $40,000. In Russia, servicemen have turned into outcasts while military service has lost any prestige, so servicemen's wages should be higher than the national average. They should be 7,000 to 8,000 rubles a month and at least 15,000 rubles in combat areas.

The program's price tag is 138.3 billion rubles.

A working interdepartmental commission, comprised of representatives of all departments concerned, including the Defense Ministry, the Interior Ministry Troops, the Federal Border Service, the Railway Troops, and the Economic Development and Trade Ministry, has inspected virtually all standby military units, estimating the per-unit costs of transition to contract service. If the country's economy remains stable, Russia will be able to carry out the reform.

By 2005, the entire North Caucasus Military District is to be manned by contract personnel while by late 2004 there will not be a single draftee left in Chechnya.

The new manpower acquisition pattern, however, creates a new problem: the officer corps. At present military schools provide a second - civilian - education. It takes up a half of all training time while newly commissioned officers end up insufficiently trained in military sciences. Furthermore, it was decided to revive the institution of deputy regiment commanders in charge of indoctrination, known in the past as propaganda officers, with even less emphasis in their curricula placed on the military component. Meanwhile, the professionalism of the military is predicated on the professionalism of its commanders.

BACK TO THE TOP    #255 CONTENTS    NEXT ARTICLE