Less Hazing, More Corruption in the Russian Ranks
To a considerable degree, the Russian military reflects both positive and negative values of Russian society. The level of violent crime within Russian society has decreased over the past 20…
Russia Bolstering Arctic Air Umbrella
Russia continues to strengthen its northern border with significant air defense and anti-shipping capability. According to an unattributed article in Nezavisimoye Voyennoye Obozreniye, a weekly newspaper supplement to Nezavisimaya Gazeta,…
Russian Military Rations Improving, Including in the Arctic
On the eve of the 321st anniversary of the Russian military’s Food Service, Colonel Sergey Nikhelman, chief of the Food Directorate, gave an interview with Nezavisimoye Voyennoye Obozreniye, a private…
Russia Formed 18th Motorized Rifle Division in Kaliningrad
The accompanying excerpted article from the 3 February 2021 edition of Izvestiya, a large circulation pro-Kremlin daily newspaper, describes the creation of Russia’s newest motorized rifle division—the 18th Motorized Rifle…
Capabilities and Organizational Aspects of Russia’s 1B75 ‘Penitsillin’ Acoustic-Thermal Reconnaissance System
The accompanying excerpted article from Yezhenedelnik Zvezda, a Russian website with geopolitical and Russian military news that is part of the Zvezda media group owned by the Russian Ministry of…
Slow Expansion of Russian Forces in Kyrgyzstan
The Russian military presence in Kyrgyzstan has undergone changes in recent years, including an expansion of the Kant Airbase outside the capital Bishkek. The accompanying excerpted articles report on a…
Russian Military History: Victim and Weapon of Information Operations
Writing in the Russian Ministry of Defense’s journal, three military scholars observed that “The current environment, characterized by the sharp escalation of an information war led by the West against…
Russian Military Newspapers on the Decline
The military newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda has long been a primary source for those following developments within the Russian armed forces. Founded in 1924, it became one of the leading Soviet…
Russian Peacekeeping Operation in Nagorno-Karabakh
From a military perspective, the recent Russian peacekeeping operation in and around the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh has been declared successful by the Russian media. In mid-November 2020, a Russian…
Few Elite in the Russian Military
Several recent polls indicate that Russian attitudes toward its armed forces and military service have improved significantly over the past decade. Better pay, upgraded living conditions, and a persistent positive…