Military organizations have to change with the times. But organizations, of course, resist change; military organizations resist change more than most; and, it can be argued, Russian military organizations resist change more than most military organizations. This is clear from the pace of the post-Cold War attempts to reform the Russian ground forces. Historically, this was an army that, in many ways, sacrificed the need for military efficiency in order to perform a role as the inculcator of Soviet values into young ...
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Military organizations have to change with the times. But organizations, of course, resist change; military organizations resist change more than most; and, it can be argued, Russian military organizations resist change more than most military organizations. This is clear from the pace of the post-Cold War attempts to reform the Russian ground forces. Historically, this was an army that, in many ways, sacrificed the need for military efficiency in order to perform a role as the inculcator of Soviet values into young conscripts. Social engineering then mattered almost more than military skill. But today, in the era of high-tech weaponry and expeditionary warfare, armies all across the world can no longer remain simply as 2-year repositories for unmotivated conscript soldiers. Thus it has long been recognized in Moscow's political circles that the "citizen-army" must be replaced by modern, flexible, and well-trained ground forces. The Russian leadership believes that such forces would better protect the country and serve the government as an adjunct to its foreign and security policy. Indeed, it is the likes of President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dimitry Medvedev who have been the main instigators of reform-wanting their armed forces to be more capable operationally. The politicians have been facing the resistance of conservative generals, and for several years there has been stalemate in the reform process. However, the war with Georgia in 2008 showed the overall weaknesses of the Russian military, and thus undermined the opposition of the generals. Significant change could now come. The Russian ground forces are therefore now undergoing quite significant reform in terms of structure, deployability, and overall philosophy. U.S. military planners must be mindful that, if all that is anticipated comes to pass, these Russian ground forces are now set to shake off many of their old Soviet failings and deficiencies.
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Add this copy of Military Modernization and the Russian Ground Forces to cart. $45.00, good condition, Sold by Ground Zero Books, Ltd. rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Silver Spring, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2011 by U. S. Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute.
Edition:
2011, Strategic Studies Institute U. S. Army War College
Publisher:
Strategic Studies Institute U. S. Army War College
Published:
2011
Language:
English
Alibris ID:
13469939760
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Seller's Description:
Very good. No dust jacket. Cover has slight wear and soiling. vii, [1], 56 p. Endnotes. From an on-line posting: "Russia s political leaders are currently pushing a state-and society-wide process of modernization. How will the deeply conservative Russian military accept and implement those proposed changes? Dr. Rod Thornton lectures at the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom (UK). He previously spent 9 years in a British Army infantry regiment, including 3 years in Northern Ireland and 1 year as a Serbo-Croat interpreter in Bosnia (1992-93). He has lived and worked in both Moscow and Sarajevo. Dr. Thornton taught for 5 years at the UK s Joint Services Command and Staff College (working for King s College London), which included guest lecturing at the NATO Defense College in Rome, Italy. He is the author of Asymmetric Warfare: Threat and Response in the 21st Century (2007) and is currently working on a book (with Dr. Bettina Renz) on Russian military modernization. Dr. Thornton holds a Ph.D. focusing on comparative peacekeeping operations."