The army received a new battle flag in the form of a tablecloth Vladimir Putin very precisely outlined the main goals for Russia until 2010 - "doubling the GDP, overcoming poverty and modernizing the Armed Forces." No effective...

The army received a new battle banner in the form of a tablecloth

IN

Vladimir Putin very precisely outlined the main goals for Russia until 2010 - "doubling the GDP, overcoming poverty and modernizing the Armed Forces." Without an efficiently developing economy and without capable, modern Armed Forces, the fate of any country is really unenviable. Russia (according to Putin) can either be a “strong power” or a weak, decaying country. Intermediate options are not considered.

As a first step, the Kremlin sent to the Duma for accelerated approval a new combat banner of the Armed Forces of a rather strange design: with four red stars in the corners, red and with a double-headed eagle in the middle. There is also pleasant cross-stitching on the edges, which makes the new banner surprisingly similar to a tablecloth. However, for both the army and the country, the most important thing is that, in fact, the Kremlin is going to file, and not what to cover.

Putin offers completely traditional ways of military and other modernization, combining the experience of both Soviet times, and Peter the Great, and the era of the Tatar-Mongol yoke. “Throughout history, the citizens of Russia have performed and are still performing a truly historic feat in the name of the integrity of the country ... This is also a huge sacrifice, deprivation of our people,” Putin says. - This is the thousand-year historical path of Russia. This is the way to reproduce it as a strong country.”

It is somewhat reminiscent of the Stalinist pre-war five-year plan, when, due to monstrous sacrifices and suffering, a powerful heavy industry was deployed, which made it possible to rearm the army, win the war, expand borders, etc. GDP grew then by leaps and bounds. However, Putin is unlikely to make a Stalinist leap, since the scattered country and its completely corrupt administrative apparatus are unable to mobilize or “consolidate” properly.

In addition, Russia today, in principle, cannot rearm its Armed Forces on its own, no matter how hard you force the people to make new sacrifices. Our military-industrial complex can still develop and even produce individual modern designs. But without Western, primarily American, components, technologies and developments, it is impossible to create the entire range of modern weapons required for real modernization.

Obviously, someone is again fooling Putin, explaining that just give our military-industrial complex money - they will do everything right away, in accordance with the adopted state armaments program. Incidentally, the same people reported a couple of months ago that America would certainly get stuck in Iraq. How can there be a "revival" of the military-industrial complex if the Soviet component industry is no more? Both in the former Soviet republics and in our country, the equipment was stolen - empty workshops stand. And where there are still capacities, they can produce, at best, only junk of the 80s of the last century.

Putin said that we will move closer and integrate with "Greater Europe", that this is "our historical choice with you." But Europe is not independent, especially in military and military-technical matters, and is increasingly using American technology and components. In order for our aircraft to be truly modernized by 2010, we must first get the go-ahead in Washington to transfer the necessary technologies to us. We must prove that our military modernization is not directed against American interests and that we will be a loyal ally like Poland.

The idea of ​​“getting closer to Europe” without first getting closer to the US is not feasible. America is the leader and center of the Euro-Atlantic community. You can “integrate” only with the entire community at once (with Washington in the first place) or always stay on the sidelines.

As long as Moscow continues to indulge in dreams of reviving a “strong power” with global interests and opportunities within the boundaries of a single former RSFSR, as long as they continue to keep, based on ridiculous ambitions, the multi-million half-starved Armed Forces, modernization is impossible.

Putin also announced that by 2007, 176,000 contract servicemen would be recruited in the permanent readiness unit, that it was they who would fight in hot spots in the future, and that recruits from 2008 would only be hired for a year. But what weapons will these soldiers be trained in, with what will they go to hot spots? It seems that everything is with the same old, Soviet one. In our country, unlike in America and France, contract servicemen are hired by military registration and enlistment offices - they drive a shaft either by conscription or by contract. The commanders of the units themselves also recruit - they take, by acquaintance or for a bribe, officer wives (there are more than half of the current more than 140 thousand contract soldiers) or local unemployed residents.

The alcoholics and homeless people recruited by the military commissariats run away, officer wives sit in state-owned camouflage at home with their children, and locals recruited in the Russian outback, where a couple of thousand a month is a lot of money, serve, in general, diligently, but immediately leave en masse as soon as part of begins to advance into a hot spot.

If there are more contract soldiers under the current system, their quality will obviously decrease even more. An ugly and worthless army will come out under a red tablecloth flag. But in 2008, the new president will once again be able to pompously set the task: "To double GDP by 2020, overcome poverty and modernize the Armed Forces."