Army Guide

The generals entrusted their secrets to society

The Russian Ministry of Defense has released its next annual report, “Armed Forces of the Russian Federation-2006”. Presenting a very weighty volume to the public, Chief of the General Staff Yuri Baluevsky described it as follows: “Today’s book is a concrete implementation of the Ministry of Defense’s policy of openness to society.”

As the Army General said, the purpose of the book is objective and broad coverage of the life of the army and navy. The report, according to the military, implements the principle “it is not society that serves the army, but the army that serves society.” This recognition can be considered another blow to the principle of Soviet times, when the army was considered nothing less than a state within a state.

Presenting the book, Yuri Baluevsky opened up: he receives many proposals on how to increase the combat readiness of the army and the country’s defense capability. And although some of these proposals “do not correspond to the realities of today,” they are still considered by the General Staff, and the authors receive answers. Partly thanks to such democracy, the next annual collection turned out to be much more solid than the previous one; it touches on a wider range of problems. In particular, the topics of combat training, construction and modernization of the armed forces, military-technical cooperation, social security, are even told about specific military units and their commanders.

The new volume is also a good reference for those interested in the life of the armed forces. From it you can learn about the tasks and priorities of the army and navy, the military budget, federal defense legislation, the structure and leadership of the military department, permanent readiness formations, changes in the principles of conscription, and the military-industrial complex. And even get information about some types of weapons and military equipment.

The circulation of the publication has also increased, although it still remains insignificant. The previous collection with a report on the Armed Forces for 2005 was published in a circulation of 2 thousand copies, and the current one - 7 thousand. Money for the publication, according to Mr. Baluevsky, was given by people and organizations “caring for Russia.” Among them, General Baluevsky named NPO Almaz , which manufactures air defense systems, the Central Sports Club of the Army, and the Military Insurance Company.

There is reason to believe that the next report will be significantly different from the current one. If only because by then a new military doctrine will probably be adopted. All designs that were required for its creation from the Ministry of Defense were sent to the Security Council, which oversees the creation of a new fundamental military-strategic document.

It is quite possible that the next report will include a new chapter, compiled by members of the recently created Public Council under the Ministry of Defense . These public assistants to the military collect information about statutory and non-statutory relations in the army, actively traveling around military units. “My hand will not tremble, signing permission to admit them to the troops,” General Baluevsky confidently told reporters.

Nikolay POROSKOV