Summary
Contents
Subject index
This study of the Russian army and how it has fared in the uncertain transitional period since independence in December 1991 provides the basis for understanding its present and potential future role in the new political developments within Russia. Starting with a historical overview of Russia's security agenda and an examination of the Russian/Soviet army's tradition of involvement in politics, The Russian Army in a Time of Troubles examines Russia's current security interests and the role of the army in protecting them. Geopolitical perspectives are linked to the security issues of the ‘Near Abroad’ and to the nuclear dimension of security. Author Pavel K. Baev then considers the question of the feasibility of political control over the Russian army. The problem of the politicization of the army is followed through the interlinked issues of stalled military reform and a drastically reduced military budget. Baev examines the current military role of the army with case studies on conflict management in the Caucasus and the army's performance in the role of peace-keeper in the Chechen war. Finally, the place of the army in Russia's peacekeeping activities within a broader European context is examined. This outstanding study of the Russian army provides the basis for understanding its present and potential future role in the new political developments within Russia and will be appreciated by academics and students in the fields of Russian studies, International relations, political science, and military studies.
Handling Conflicts in the Post-Soviet Space
Handling Conflicts in the Post-Soviet Space
5.1 Introduction
The scale and intensity of Russia's peace-keeping/peace-making activities in the Near Abroad could be compared only with those conducted worldwide under the auspices of the UN. Embodying various forms of interaction between foreign and military policies, they deserve closer examination than most of that available on the security studies market. The key issue here is the level of integration between Russia's increasingly self-assertive and offensive foreign policy, and its military policy which since early 1993 has been showing more and more restraint. (Chechnya, however absurd it may sound, is rather a continuation than a break with this trend.) A more general question is how to define the overall course – in which there ...
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