por Thierry Meyssan
In the midst of the Ukrainian conflict, the Russian Federation has decided to complete the reorganization of its armed forces, a herculean task made necessary by the dissolution of the USSR and the complete anarchy that followed. Despite the problems that arose in 2022, such as the sending of young conscripts to the Ukrainian front and the delays in the provisioning of some units, the increase in the professional level of the entire system is already visible. The announced reform includes not only the homogenization of the armed forces at all levels but also a profound transformation of command methods.
Since coming to power, President Vladimir Putin has personally overseen the transformation of the Russian armed forces, which were in a deplorable state. Most of the officers were undermined by alcoholism and the young recruits were subjected to simply unclean “hazing”.
At the beginning of the process, 150,000 officers and non-commissioned officers were separated from active service, which put the leadership of the armed forces in crisis. Vladimir Putin then created the world’s first aerospace force – some twenty years before the United States – both to test new forms of command and for Russia to become present in a new theater of operations. One of Vladimir Putin’s most important steps was to place the fight against corruption in the hands of Anatoli Serdukov, who took on that task with an iron fist… but to the detriment of the armed forces.
Subsequently, for an entire decade, Vladimir Putin sent his soldiers to train in the heat of combat, spending 6-month tours of duty in Syria. He finally created, experimentally, a private military company, the so-called “Wagner Group”, which served to test various forms of organization.
For the past 2 years, Wagner has reported to Colonel Dimitri Utkin, while Wagner’s co-founder Yevgeny Prigozhin takes on a communicator role, being the all-eyes as well as critics character.
Armies are gigantic structures whose organization must be subject to a permanent process of analysis and modification. As a comparison, it must be remembered that the United States came to verify, in the 1990s, that the increase in its military spending did not improve the results of its armed forces. Donald Rumsfeld, who had shown exceptional skills in running business, was then appointed Secretary of Defense. In 2001, Rumsfeld encouraged the creation of private military companies – like the infamous Blackwater – to test new methods of operation. But that experiment failed because it was more interesting for those companies to carry out secret operations for the CIA than to respond to the demands of the Pentagon. Currently, the United States continues to have armed forces whose effectiveness is constantly decreasing, as could be seen at the time of the fall of Kabul, in 2021.
Today, President Vladimir Putin is carrying out a general reorganization of the Russian armed forces, creating a second regular army of 5 divisions and 26 brigades. This new force will be responsible for putting into practice some of the methods already tested by Wagner on the battlefield, with a view to achieving a greater degree of effectiveness.
General Yevgeny Burdinski, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, will be responsible for overseeing the new army. General Burdinski is a recognized specialist in command issues.
This reorganization of the personnel of the Russian armed forces will take place at the same time as a comprehensive redesign of the geographical layout. The return of Crimea to the Russian Federation and the incorporation, for now partial, of Novorossiya require the creation of a naval district for the Sea of Azov. On the other hand, the return of the terrorist threat of the Ukrainian fundamentalist nationalists – the so-called “banderistas” – demands the creation of new military districts to guarantee the protection of the most important cities of the Russian Federation: Moscow and Saint Petersburg.
The central objective is to complete the transformation process of the Russian armed forces by retaining only what has already proven to be truly effective. Russia already has the best weapons in the world and a truly admirable strategic and tactical doctrine. In the coming years he hopes to have the best army in the world.
President Vladimir Putin is carrying out this transformation process while the Russian special military operation in Ukraine is taking place, which carries serious risks. But President Putin seems to estimate that this conflict is close to ending.
Thierry Meyssan
Red Voltaire
