Concept, algorithm, indecision: Why military reform has failed in Russia since 1992

This article seeks to analyse why military reform has failed in Russia since 1992. First, the article discusses the Russian conceptualisation of military reform in terms of the methodological approach, key objectives and concrete targets for reform. The article then proceeds to describe the contemporary status of military reform in Russia. It moves on to provide an evaluation and explanation of why military reform has such a disappointing record in Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union. Finally, and far more controversially, the author will present a case for consideration which points to deeper socio‐cultural and intellectual reasons in Russia which militate against the success of any enlightened and modernising reformist project.