Translated material
Far East - Far West
Russia will not build an army according to the American model
Today in Fairbanks, Alaska, Russian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov meets with his American counterpart Donald Rumsfeld. For us it’s already Monday, for Alaska it’s still Sunday. The so-called international date line, adopted for the convenience of counting time during transoceanic voyages and flights, runs along the longitude of 180 degrees - just between Chukotka and Alaska. When crossing this conditional line in the western direction, a day must be added, and in the eastern direction, it must be subtracted. Mr. Ivanov flew east.The Russian Defense Minister will have a long and difficult conversation with Donald Rumsfeld. As stated, the heads of the military departments intend to discuss issues of military cooperation between Russia and the United States, traditionally the problems of international terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, missile technology and even joint work in the field of missile defense. Although, after the US withdrawal from the 1972 ABM Treaty and Russia’s intention to “leave” another treaty - on short- and medium-range missiles - such talk seems like a farce. It will not be possible (the meeting place is conducive to this) without mentioning the North Korean nuclear program.
The issue of bringing Russian peacekeepers into the Lebanese-Israeli conflict zone will also be discussed. For now, the Russian military department, according to Sergei Ivanov, is studying the situation, since the status and mandate of the peacekeeping forces is still unclear. It is indeed unclear whether it will be a police contingent, a force of disengagement or a force of containment. It is also unclear whether the Russians should send combat units or medical and engineering units.
Speaker of the Federation Council Sergei Mironov, answering for all senators at once, stated a priori that the upper house of parliament would approve the dispatch of a Russian peacekeeping contingent if the corresponding proposal came from the head of state. Although Sergei Mironov’s own opinion is that “it would have been better there without us.”
The head of the Russian military department will take part in the opening of a monument to Russian and American pilots - participants in the Lend-Lease program, under which about 8 thousand Airacobras and other American aircraft took off from Fairbanks to help the Soviet Union during the Second World War. September 2 will now be considered Lend-Lease Day in Alaska.
People close to Sergei Ivanov say that when he meets Mr. Rumsfeld, he will give him a tie clip in the shape of a Kalashnikov assault rifle—this is his second time. The first, as Mr. Rumsfeld joked, he sent to Hugo Chavez, who is very interested in such weapons.
During the Far Eastern voyage that preceded his flight to America, Sergei Ivanov continually had to refute information that appeared in the media during his recent vacation. Firstly, the head of the military department put an end to the long debate over the elimination of military districts and their replacement, following the example of the United States, with operational commands. The reason for the conversation on this topic was the ongoing experiment on the basis of one of the military districts. Based on its preliminary results, the leadership of the Ministry of Defense decided to create in the future regional commands “West”, “East” and “South”, which will change the system of command and control of troops, but also preserve the districts. Apparently, the focus on the Soviet experience had an effect - then there were strategic directions that were led by marshals. This did not bother the military districts.
Sergei Ivanov did not receive any instructions to prepare a new military doctrine for Russia, to which one of the newspapers devoted an entire page signed by a general - doctor of sciences and professor. Mr. Ivanov called the information that he is nominating his candidacy for the post of president of the country from a new united left party based on the Party of Life, Rodina and the Russian Party of Pensioners as “nonsense.”
Sergei Ivanov both confirmed and commented on some information. In particular, out of 2,870 military commissariats, 405 have already been abolished; in the remaining ones, there is a rotation of officers into the troops so that they do not stay too long and do not fall into corruption. There will be less work for the military registration and enlistment offices: due to the increase in the number of contract soldiers, the number of recruits per conscription has decreased by 50 thousand. The group of troops in Chechnya has also decreased - today there are less than 20 thousand military personnel in this republic. All that remained from the Ministry of Defense were the 42nd Motorized Rifle Division on a permanent basis and special forces units of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff. It is for the GRU that, within the framework of the State Arms Program (GAP), designed until 2015, one and a half dozen Ka-50 helicopters, better known as the “Black Shark,” will be purchased. Today there are only three such vehicles in service.
“The Ka-50 is a good car, but very expensive,” Sergei Ivanov said recently. Apparently, the significantly increased amount of the state defense order - 302 billion rubles - will make it possible to purchase an expensive car. this year compared to 237 billion last year. By the way, the state weapons program provides for the commissioning of a new generation of ships of the frigate-corvette class, as well as nuclear multi-purpose submarines. So it will be, the Deputy Prime Minister confirmed during his Far Eastern trip. But another program - reforming the military education system - provides not a plus for the military, but a minus: the reduction of about two dozen military universities. “Otherwise,” said the Minister of Defense, “we will spend huge budget funds inappropriately.”