Military Affairs in the Twenty-First Century and the Russian Army

Abstract

In my view, the Chechen campaign signified the last defeat of the armed forces of the Soviet Union or, more accurately, of a much weakened version of them, the historical incongruity of which is graphically demonstrated by the schizophrenic coexistence of red stars and two-headed eagles. The situation cannot be rectified by reshuf-flings at the top, and certainly not by simply pouring money into it. The cruel and costly truth is that the Russian armed forces will have to be rebuilt almost from the foundation.