Search on Ifri.org

Frequent searches

Suggestions

Russia's Armed Forces: The Power of Illusion

Papers
|
Date de publication
|
Référence taxonomie collections
Russie.Eurasie.Visions
Image de couverture de la publication
Les forces armées russes : le pouvoir de l'illusion
Accroche

Paradoxically, Russia's military success during the "five day war" in the South Caucasus in August 2008 highlighted the deplorable state of its conventional armed forces, weakened by years of underfunding, failed reforms and declining social prestige. Nevertheless, the Kremlin sees the military as one of the principal elements in the restoration of Russian power. As a result, it seeks to promote a positive image of the armed forces, which is nothing more than an illusion, manipulated for both domestic and international ends. The return of heavy weaponry to annual parades on Red Square and Soviet-era symbols on military uniforms, the resumption of strategic bomber flights, and the deployment of Russia's navy to Latin America and the Caribbean all play a role in the staging of this illusion. Taking into account Russia's current economic difficulties, it will be difficult to realize the ambitious reform agenda laid out after the Georgian war; in these conditions it remains likely that the Russian authorities will be tempted to undertake a marketing campaign, rather than a reform program.

Roger N. McDermott is an Honorary Senior Fellow at the Department of Politics & International Relations, University of Kent, Canterbury, and a Senior Fellow in Eurasian Military Studies at the Jamestown Foundation, Washington DC. He specializes in defense and security issues in Russia, Central Asia and the South Caucasus, and his published research appears in journals such as the Journal of Slavic Military Studies and the International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence.


Russie.Nei.Visions is an electronic collection of policy papers published in French, English and Russian by the Russia/NIS Center, Ifri.

Download the full analysis

This page contains only a summary of our work. If you would like to have access to all the information from our research on the subject, you can download the full version in PDF format.

Russia's Armed Forces: The Power of Illusion

Image principale
Russie, Eurasie, Carte
Russia/Eurasia Center
Accroche centre

Founded in 2005 within Ifri, the Russia/Eurasia Center conducts research and organizes debates on Russia, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the South Caucasus. Its goal is to understand and anticipate the evolution of this complex and rapidly changing geographical area in order to enrich public discourse in France and Europe and to assist in strategic, political, and economic decision-making.

Image principale

The Caspian Sea as an Emerging Energy Hub : Potentials and Limitations

Date de publication
07 February 2025
Accroche

This report analyzes the prospects of the Caspian Sea region — and its key actors except for Russia and Iran — becoming an important energy hub serving the needs of the European Union (EU). 

Sergey SUKHANKIN
Image principale

The European Union's Strategic Test in Georgia

Date de publication
27 January 2025
Accroche

The political crisis brewing in Georgia is of an existential nature for the country. What is at stake is Georgia's future as a democratic and sovereign European nation (EU).

Teona GIUASHVILI
Image principale

Commanders of Putin's Long War: Purged, Reshuffled and Disgruntled

Date de publication
10 December 2024
Accroche

The trend of reshuffling the Russian top military command in the course of a fast-evolving and far from successful war has progressed unevenly both across the Armed Forces’ structures and in time. The rationale for and timing of the abrupt cadre decisions made by Commander-in-Chief Putin often defy logical explanation, and the rare official clarifications are no more informative than the usual information blackout. 

Image principale

Russian Military Manpower After Two and a Half Years of War in Ukraine

Date de publication
25 November 2024
Accroche

In addition to a military victory in Ukraine, the Russian leadership is planning to build up sizable troop formations for a possible conflict with NATO in the Baltic region and the Kola Peninsula. In particular, current plans aim for the military manpower to grow by about 350,000, reaching a total of 1.5 million soldiers and commanders. In the context of the current conflict in Ukraine, this cannot be accomplished without a new wave of mass mobilization. 

Yuri E. FEDOROV

How can this study be cited?

Image de couverture de la publication
Les forces armées russes : le pouvoir de l'illusion
Russia's Armed Forces: The Power of Illusion, from Ifri by
Copy
Image de couverture de la publication
Les forces armées russes : le pouvoir de l'illusion

Russia's Armed Forces: The Power of Illusion