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January 19, 2010Russia in the Far East
The daily Nezavisimoye Voyenno Obozreniye - Independent Military Review - published a scathing assessment on the state of Russian Army preparedness in the strategically-important Far East.
The data is crucial for several reasons: 1. The Russian military establishment views "eastern direction" as a source of potential threat (read, China, but don't say it aloud, as is the current modus operandi in Moscow); 2. Russia just inaugurated a major oil pipeline to feed much-needed energy for China's ever-increasing demand. Defense of energy networks that now criss-cross Eastern Siberia and the Far East are key to Russian economic security; 3. the criticism of the Russian military preparedness are becoming more and more public across the Russian Federation.
"Last week the MOD Commission checked the status of combat training in the Far East. The preliminary results are disappointing. According to the First Deputy Defense Minister of the Russian Army General Nikolai Makarov, the combat training of troops in the Far Eastern Region (DVO) and the Pacific Fleet (TOF) is assessed as unsatisfactory. Meanwhile, Far East and the Pacific Fleet in combat power and the number of troops make up almost 40% of the capacity of the Russian Army and Navy. General Makarov said that the final conclusions on the audit readiness of troops in the region will be made by the end of January. However, he said that during this test, "the high demand placed on a new image of the troops and their leaders do not allow individual military units and commanders to deliver a positive evaluation."
General Makarov, the second highest-ranked person in the military, released the assessment last Friday, the day after Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov confidently reported to the Supreme Commander in Chief - President Dmitry Medvedev - about the success of Russian military reform. Makarov said the main purpose of checking the military readiness in the Far East was to determine the preparedness of troops to carry out tasks in the new organizational structure and three-tier system of governance, into which the armed forces were transferred after December 1, 2009. In this review, the troops in the Far East and Pacific Fleet forces "were supposed to be brought to the highest degree of combat readiness with the full range of relevant activities, verified by the Defense Commission." This commission, which included the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, as well as several leaders of the main and central directorates of the Defense Ministry, is headed by First Deputy Defense Minister Colonel General Alexander Kolmakov.Independent military experts likewise commented on the large gaps in the army and navy readiness during this inspection. Thus, according to Deputy Chairman of the Duma Defense Committee Mikhail Babich, "almost all scrambled troops - including landing assault and mechanized infantry brigades - were not battle-ready. A complete zero - from manning and finishing equipment readiness, to the ability of maneuvering in the designated area, to the availability of mechanics and drivers to exploit their own military equipment."
Babic's findings largely coincide with the views of military experts, who know firsthand about the situation in the army. For example, Colonel-General Leonid Ivashov, who long headed the Directorate for International Military Cooperation, told Nezavisimaya Gazeta that he was "very concerned about the current state of Russia's army." The army, in his opinion, "would not be able to fend off against those new military threats, which are defined in the new draft military doctrine of Russian Federation." The General also believes that the current head of the Defense Ministry (Serdyokov) has surrounded himself with inadequately-competent "associates" from St. Petersburg, who, "except the destruction and chaos, brought nothing to the armed forces."
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