Although the role of the military in Russia has changed significantly since Soviet times, it continues to exert great influence on Russian politics, economy and society. This book presents a comprehensive overview of current developments related to Russia's military sector. It considers recent military reforms, personnel issues, the defence industry and procurement, the defence economy, changes in civil-military relations, and the continuing huge economic significance of Russia's military-industrial complex. It explores difficulties currently faced by the Russian military, including problems of recruitment and leadership; analyses Russian security policy - including in relation to Europe and more widely; and discusses the lessons learned by the Russian military as a result of the recent war in Georgia. The book argues that reform attempts have often been thwarted by bureaucracy, economy, strategy, manpower, weapon systems and leadership. The book concludes by assessing likely future developments.

At no time since the end of the Cold War has interest been higher in Russian security issues and the role played in this by the modernization of Russia's Armed Forces. The continued transformation of its Armed Forces from Cold War legacy towards a modern combat capable force presents many challenges for the Kremlin. Moscow's security concerns domestically, in the turbulent North Caucasus, and internationally linked to the Arab Spring, as well as its complex relations with the US and NATO and its role in the aftermath of the Maidan Revolution in Ukraine in 2014 further raises the need to present an informed analytical survey of the country's military, past, present and future. This collection addresses precisely the nature of the challenges facing Russian policymakers as they struggle to rebuild combat capable military to protect Russian interests in the twenty-first century. This book was based on a special issue of the Journal of Slavic Military Studies.

Military reform has featured prominently on the agenda of many countries since the end of the Cold War necessitated a re-evaluation of the strategic role of the armed forces, and nowhere more publicly than in Russia. Not since the 1920s have the Russian Armed Forces undergone such fundamental change. President Boris Yeltsin and his successor Vladimir Putin have both grappled with the issue, with varying degrees of success. An international team of experts here consider the essential features of Russian military reform in the decade since the disintegration of the USSR. Fluctuations in the purpose and priorities of the reform process are traced, as well as the many factors influencing change. Chapters analyse the development of Russia's security policy, structural reform of the services, the social impact of military service and experience of military conflict in Chechnya. Critical evaluations of the impact of social change on the Russian Armed Forces' capabilities and expectations complement the analysis of the on-going debate. Russian Military Reform, 1992-2002 will prove invaluable to all those interested in civil-military relationships and international security as well as to students of military theory and practice.

Military reform has featured prominently on the agenda of many countries since the end of the Cold War necessitated a re-evaluation of the strategic role of the armed forces, and nowhere more publicly than in Russia. Not since the 1920s have the Russian Armed Forces undergone such fundamental change. President Boris Yeltsin and his successor Vladimir Putin have both grappled with the issue, with varying degrees of success. An international team of experts here consider the essential features of Russian military reform in the decade since the disintegration of the USSR. Fluctuations in the purpose and priorities of the reform process are traced, as well as the many factors influencing change. Chapters analyse the development of Russia's security policy, structural reform of the services, the social impact of military service and experience of military conflict in Chechnya. Critical evaluations of the impact of social change on the Russian Armed Forces' capabilities and expectations complement the analysis of the on-going debate. Russian Military Reform, 1992-2002 will prove invaluable to all those interested in civil-military relationships and international security as well as to students of military theory and practice.

At no time since the end of the Cold War has interest been higher in Russian security issues and the role played in this by the modernization of Russia's Armed Forces. The continued transformation of its Armed Forces from Cold War legacy towards a modern combat capable force presents many challenges for the Kremlin. Moscow's security concerns domestically, in the turbulent North Caucasus, and internationally linked to the Arab Spring, as well as its complex relations with the US and NATO and its role in the aftermath of the Maidan Revolution in Ukraine in 2014 further raises the need to present an informed analytical survey of the country's military, past, present and future. This collection addresses precisely the nature of the challenges facing Russian policymakers as they struggle to rebuild combat capable military to protect Russian interests in the twenty-first century. This book was based on a special issue of the Journal of Slavic Military Studies.

Although the role of the military in Russia has changed significantly since Soviet times, it continues to exert great influence on Russian politics, economy and society. This book presents a comprehensive overview of current developments related to Russia's military sector. It considers recent military reforms, personnel issues, the defence industry and procurement, the defence economy, changes in civil-military relations, and the continuing huge economic significance of Russia's military-industrial complex. It explores difficulties currently faced by the Russian military, including problems of recruitment and leadership; analyses Russian security policy - including in relation to Europe and more widely; and discusses the lessons learned by the Russian military as a result of the recent war in Georgia. The book argues that reform attempts have often been thwarted by bureaucracy, economy, strategy, manpower, weapon systems and leadership. The book concludes by assessing likely future developments.

The authors reassess the barriers to Islamic radicalization in the Republic of Kazakhstan. They provide crucial analysis and findings for policymakers seeking to engage with the country, while also presenting important insights into the historical and cultural impediments in the path of radicalizing its youth. Despite the proximity of the Central Asian Republics to Afghanistan and the Global War on Terrorism, unlike its neighbors, Kazakhstan has remained relatively stable and low risk in the face of international terrorism and extremism. This monograph examines some of the reasons as to why this is the case, proving that early judgements offered by commentators concerning Kazakhstan's experience of domestic politically inspired violence in 2011-12, exaggerated the potential threat of growing Islamic radicalization. For 70 years, Kazakhstan underwent a forceful and externally imposed secularization and was maintained rigidly under Soviet rule, with no official state support for organized religion.

Central Asia is a key theater in the war on terrorism. It is a region of fragile new states, all facing a wide range of challenges. Ungoverned regions-the cauldron of terrorism-are common. As the U.S. State Department notes, the United States, "learned a harsh lesson after we disengaged from Afghanistan in the early 1990s. We must not allow countries to become breeding grounds for extremism and terrorism. To prevent these destructive forces from taking root in Central Asia, we have intensified our efforts to help the countries of this area become stable, prosperous, and fully integrated members of the world community and the global economy." The question is how to undertake this complex endeavor. In this monograph, Roger N. McDermott offers a framework for improving the antiterrorist capabilities of the Central Asian militaries. This includes increased and focused military training with a special emphasis on Special Forces units.

Kazakhstan's foreign policy, since its independence, has successfully avoided favoring any one country based on what Astana styles as a "multi-vectored" approach to foreign policy. Yet, in terms of its conduct of defense and security policies, this paradigm simply does not fit with how the regime makes policy in its most sensitive areas of security cooperation. Indeed, its closest defense ties are still with Russia, which have deepened and intensified at a bilateral level, as well as through multilateral initiatives in the context of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Washington's military assistance programs have therefore often run into geopolitical issues, such as the limiting effect on its objectives emanating from Kazakhstan's political and defense relationship with Russia, or sensitivities to its close proximity to China, as well as internal issues surrounding Astana's military reform agenda. Defense spending in Kazakhstan will also be subject in the short to medium term depending on how the government handles its unfolding financial crisis and continued exposure to the global financial crisis, coupled with the sliding price of oil on the world markets. These issues, sharply refocused by the Russian military exposure of weaknesses within Georgia's armed forces despite several years of time-phased U.S. training and equipment programs, serve to question the aims, scope, and utility of American defense assistance programs calibrated to enhance Kazakhstan's military capabilities. While Astana grapples with these internal issues and remains politically sensitive to the anxieties of Moscow as it perceives U.S. training and aid to the Kazakhstani armed forces, success will be modest. New, deeper and more closely monitored programs are needed and, combined with multilateral cooperative initiatives, should be a matter of urgent priority, otherwise, such programs will underperform and languish in the repetition of the misjudgements of the past.

Roger McDermott traces the origins and trajectory of Moscow's modernization of its armed forces to exploit technology and adopt new approaches to warfare. Drawing extensively on primary sources, McDermott explores the role of Russian military thought in the modernization process, changes in military decisionmaking, developments stemming from Russian military operations in Syria, and other key factors. The result is a thorough assessment of Moscow's efforts to transition its conventional armed forces away from dependence on large numbers of personnel toward more extensive exploitation of information in a digitized, high-technology environment.