Talk:Russian Armed Forces

New Table of Ranks

I created a table of ranks for Comparative military ranks, but as things turned out, it wasn't needed there, so I tried moving it here. Only there already is a table here. But this table is different (and somewhat messier)) than mine. I haven't replaced the table here yet because it contains information which my table does not. I hope the two can be reconsiled soon and then moved here. I will do this if nobody else is up to the task. --Oceanhahn 09:09, 12 Sep 2004 (UTC)

July 13, 2007 AVN new articles

Army

North Caucasian military district group holds anti-terrorist drill

MOSCOW. July 12 (Interfax-AVN) - A tactical battalion group of the 503rd motorized infantry regiment of the 58th army is in an exercise aimed at the destruction of a 500-man strong terrorist group at the Tarskoye training range in North Ossetia, assistant to the Russian Army commander Col. Igor Konashenkov told Interfax-AVN.

"Assault planes, helicopters, self-propelled artillery systems and Grad missile systems are taking part in the anti-terrorist drill at the Tarskoye training range on Thursday. The drill is part of the Caucasian Boundary 2007 exercises," Konashenkov said.

The exercises began last Saturday and will conclude on July 13. They involve over 6,000 servicemen, over 250 pieces of armor and artillery systems and more than 30 planes and helicopters.

Army

NATO planes monitoring Russian exercises

MOSCOW. July 12 (Interfax-AVN) - NATO reconnaissance aircraft have been shadowing military exercises being conducted by Russia's Northern Fleet, as well as exercises in the Far East and the North Caucasus.

"Flights by two or three NATO reconnaissance planes have been registered near Russia's borders since the exercises began," Col. Alexander Drobyshevsky, an aide to the Russian Air Force commander, told Interfax-AVN on Thursday.

"NATO is monitoring the exercises without violating Russia's airspace, that is why our Air Forces are not taking any retaliatory measures. We are only tracking these flights," Drobyshevsky said.

"Two or three NATO aircraft, including Orion, Atlantic and RS-135, have been flying near the scene of the exercises and shadowing them. Usually we register one NATO scout plane per day near these Russian districts," he said.

This week Russia is conducting Caucasian Frontier-2007 antiterrorist exercise, the Wing-2007 logistics maneuvers and the command post exercise of the Northern Fleet.

Army

Over 80 military units to shift to all-volunteer manning before 2008 - general staff

MOSCOW. July 12 (Interfax-AVN) - Deputy Chief of General Staff Col. Gen. Vasily Smirnov has claimed that 81 military units, with the total strength of 124,000 people, will shift to all-volunteer manning by January 1, 2008.

"I have no doubts that this transformation will proceed as planned. Presently, we have 93,000 professional servicemen in the Armed Forces," he said, noting though that there are problems enlisting volunteers, mostly related to the low wages and their bad qualifications.

He added that 174 volunteers from CIS member-states undergo service in the Russian Armed Forces now, emphasizing that they are enlisted under special order of the defense minister, which specifies the units and positions in which such professional servicemen can serve.

Infobox

I think an infobox like in so many other military articles, with statistical numbers about total armed forces, active troops and so on, would be good for this page.

Commanders appointed for new OSKs

New Russian Strategic Level Commanders: Makarov’s Successor in the Making? Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 7 Issue: 149 August 3, 2010 11:23 AM Age: 5 days Category: Eurasia Daily Monitor, Home Page, Featured, Military/Security, Russia By: Roger McDermott

Russian Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov (L) and Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Nikolai Makarov (R)

On July 22, Russian Defense Minister, Anatoliy Serdyukov, signed an order appointing acting commanders in the new operational-strategic commands (OSK’s). Serdyukov’s Press Secretary, Lieutenant-Colonel Irina Kovalchuk, told Interfax that Colonel-General Arkadiy Bakhin (Commander of the Volga-Urals Military District –MD) has become the acting Commander of the West OSK; Lieutenant-General Aleksandr Galkin (Commander of the North Caucasus MD) will command the South OSK; Admiral Konstantin Sidenko (Commander of the Pacific Fleet) now commands the East OSK and Lieutenant-General Vladimir Chirkin (Commander of the Siberian MD) commands the Central OSK (Interfax, July 22).

These appointments are highly significant for a number of reasons linked to the future course of Serdyukov’s reform program, and not least in strengthening the authority of the Chief of the General Staff (CGS), Army-General Nikolai Makarov. Each of these commanders are committed supporters of the “new look” and share common features in their career progression, especially Bakhin, Galkin and Chirkin, and these are arguably now possible candidates to replace Makarov in the future.

General Makarov was appointed as the CGS in June 2008, prior to the Russia-Georgia war in August of that year. At the time of his appointment he was 58 years old. Upon reaching the retirement age for an officer of his rank, 60, in October 2009, President Dmitry Medvedev, signed a ukaz extending his service by up to three years, partly in recognition of his crucial role in promoting and overseeing the implementation of military reform (Interfax, October 13, 2009). Consequently, by 2012, Makarov must be replaced; however, since the defense “tandem” that formed between Serdyukov and Makarov has worked so well and proved critical in advancing the military reform, the selection of the latter’s successor must also be handled very carefully.

In December 1997, Makarov was appointed as commander of the ground and coastal troops and deputy commander of the Baltic Fleet. By September 1999 Makarov was the chief of staff in the Moscow MD before becoming the commander of the Siberian MD in December 2002. Following a period as chief of armaments (April 2007) Makarov became the CGS on June 3, 2008. As a candidate of political sciences, his dissertation topic was: “Political Extremism as a Radical Model of the Political Process, and the Organization of State Opposition to Extremism” (Kommersant-Vlast, March 5, 6). Makarov will be 61 in October 2010, allowing a maximum of two years to select his successor.

Makarov’s only obvious similarity to Admiral Sidenko is the latter’s experience commanding troops and forces in Northeastern Russia in the late 1990’s. However, in the case of the other senior appointments, there are more clear indications of shared background and preference for those with service in the Siberian MD. General Bahkin, 54, in the 1990’s served as a commander of the 59th Motorized Rifle Regiment in the 85th Motorized Rifle Division (MRD) in the Siberian MD. Following a period as commander of the 102nd Military Base in Gyumri, Armenia, in 2000 he commanded the 42nd MRD in Chechnya. In 2002, Bakhin was appointed as deputy commander of the North Caucasus MD. In October 2004, he returned to the Siberian MD, commanding the 41st Combined-Arms Army in Novosibirsk, before becoming deputy commander of the Siberian MD in January 2006 (serving as Makarov’s deputy) and later its chief of staff. On December 3, 2008 he was appointed to command the Volga-Urals MD (Kommersant-Vlast, March 5, 6).

In 2003, General Galkin, 52, served as deputy commander of the 41st Combined-Arms Army (Novosibirsk), then as the chief of staff of the 36th Combined-Arms Army (Borzya, Chita Oblast) in the Siberian MD, before he became commander of the 41st Army in January 2006. In April 2008, Galkin was appointed as deputy commander of the Siberian MD, and following Makarov being promoted to the post of CGS in December 2008, Galkin was made its chief of staff. On January 11, 2010, Galkin was appointed as the new commander of the North Caucasus MD (Kommersant-Vlast, March 5, 6).

General Chirkin, 54, was chief of staff in the 19th MRD in the North Caucasus MD before commanding the 42nd MRD in Chechnya in 2000. By 2002, Chirkin was the chief of staff in the 58th Army within the same MD, before his appointment the following year to command the 36th Combined-Arms Army in the Siberian MD. He served from February 2007 as deputy commander of the Moscow MD, and in December 2008 became chief of staff in the Volga-Urals MD. On January 11, 2010, he was promoted to command the Siberian MD (Kommersant-Vlast, March 5, 6).

However, Bakhin, Chirkin and Galkin all benefitted during Makarov’s period commanding the Siberian MD. They are all outspoken supporters of Serdyukov’s reform, and the preference for those with experience in the Siberian MD was demonstrated in January 2010, in the largest reshuffling of generals since Serdyukov’s reform began (Argumenty Nedeli, January 22). These appointments confirm the high level of influence that Makarov has secured over the defense minister, favoring only those senior officers committed to the progress of the reform, and given the expansion of command responsibilities involved in forming the new OSK’s by December 1, 2010, it is likely that these generals will now compete to replace Makarov in 2012. Those confirmed in their posts in December will remain in the running, while given the intensification of Chirkin’s pro-reform interviews this year, as well as having commanded the Siberian MD, the others may have already identified a front runner.

http://www.jamestown.org/single/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews[swords]=8fd5893941d69d0be3f378576261ae3e&tx_ttnews[any_of_the_words]=OSK&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=36705&tx_ttnews[backPid]=7&cHash=3105c60244, Aug 3, 2010

Also http://www.jamestown.org/programs/edm/single/?tx_ttnews[tt_news]=36496&cHash=582e631d45, June 15, 2010 Also http://www.bu.edu/phpbin/news-cms/news/?dept=732&id=56306 (BU)

Quick Facts: History

Under the History section under Quick Facts, I think wikilinks to List of Wars involving Russia, List of Wars involving the Soviet Union, and List of Battles involving the Russian Federation should be provided, as this would provide better resources to the reader and be more consistent with other armed forces articles (the Soviet Union one is debatable), I would give the display text as follows: Wars involving Russia; Wars involving the Soviet Union; Battles involving the Russian Federation. Respectively. I'm far from having the permissions to edit the Introduction, so this is also a request for someone with the permissions to do so if this is found to be suitable. Isz Chepewéssin (talk) 08:23, 25 January 2024 (UTC)