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The term ‘military organisation’ encompasses the armed forces and other troops, forces, units and agencies responsible for carrying out military security missions using military methods. The term also covers the research and production centres working for the defence sector. 

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Speech at Security Council meeting

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, colleagues,

We are here today to analyse our ongoing work to improve the country’s military organisation. The focus here is on how to make our armed forces, Interior Ministry, Emergency Situations Ministry and other military agencies more effective so that they meet all modern demands, from tactics and arms through to social guarantees for military personnel and their families.

I cannot stress just how big and important are the tasks we need to address in defence and security. They are dictated by the complexity of the international situation with all its threats, old and new, to which we need to find adequate responses.

We must take into account the military development trends that the world’s big military powers are following. They are making their armed forces smaller, while at the same time building up their combat capability and giving them cutting edge command, intelligence, communications and assault systems.

”Improving our military organisation is a strategic and multifaceted task that requires carefully planned action and coordinated efforts by all of the state agencies.“

The nature of military conflict and the methods of its development and conduct are changing before our very eyes. We are seeing development of robotised combat systems and high-precision weapons. Colleagues, the specialists know that these high-precision weapons come close to strategic weapons in capability and ultimately are affecting the global balance of power.

Militarisation of outer space and cyberspace continues. There is broader use of special operations methods and soft power instruments. We need to take all of these factors into account in our practical work.

We have done a lot over these last years to improve our military organisation. We are now more or less working to a 50/50 formula. In other words, budget money is being spent equally on maintaining and equipping the armed forces and on their future development. The ratio was 30/70 not so long ago, that is to say, only 30 percent of funds went on development, and 70 percent went on current needs.

The military units and agencies are now getting series production models of modern arms and equipment. Nearly 100 units in the army and navy have received new arms and equipment over the last two years. We have also made substantial changes to the armed forces command model. The service pay reform has been completed and service pay throughout the military and security agencies has increased 2.5–3-fold on average. Military pensions have increased 1.6-fold.

At the same time, we need to keep moving forward and clarify our main priorities for military development through to 2020. We need to analyse the implementation of the current programmes, see which decisions have not been very effective, where there have been systemic glitches and breakdowns, and what we need to do to fix the situation in some areas. 

I repeat that our military organisation must have all the capabilities it needs to prevent potential aggression against our country and be able to respond decisively to any attempts to exert pressure through force and blackmail and reliably guarantee our sovereignty and protect our citizens. At the same time, our defence programmes must be reasonable and not place a heavy burden on the economy and the social sphere.

Let me highlight several issues that require clear and principled decisions.

”Our military organisation must have all the capabilities it needs to prevent potential aggression against our country and be able to respond decisively to any attempts to exert pressure through force and blackmail and reliably guarantee our sovereignty and protect our citizens.“

First is organisation of military planning. I ask you to revise and complete a new, clarified draft of the Provisions on Military Planning very soon. You need to organise and coordinate the work between all of the participants and raise the quality of the documents prepared. 

We are talking above all here about the plans for developing the armed forces and other troops and agencies over 2016–2020, and also about the new Defence Plan. These documents must be ready for approval in 2015 at the latest.

The second task is to continue optimising the composition, structure and deployment of troops and forces that are part of the overall military organisation. One of the armed forces’ priorities is to develop our aerospace defence system.

It is time to clarify our approaches to strategic reserves too, and decide what missions we need them for, how many people we need, how to maintain them, and link together the armed forces’ mobilisation capabilities and readiness, the country’s economy, and the development of a territorial defence system. We need to raise the service and combat capabilities of the Interior Ministry troops and man the main units with professional contract soldiers.

The Emergency Situations Ministry must have greater possibilities for rapid and effective action in any part of Russia and around the world. This involves developing regional groups with air transport at their disposal, and fire and rescue brigades. We need to substantially bolster the Emergency Situations units in Siberia and the Far East, including for being able to respond to emergency situations in the Asia-Pacific region. 

We need to pay particular attention to building up technical, operational and personnel capability of the units responsible for security at strategic facilities and sites. This is a common and important task for the Defence Ministry, Interior Ministry, Federal Guard Service and Federal Security Service.

Third, information technology plays an ever bigger part in modern armed conflict. Information attacks are already being used to carry out objectives of military and political nature. The specialists say that these kinds of attacks can cause even greater damage than conventional weapons.

”We need to be ready to respond effectively to threats in the information space and better protect the relevant infrastructure, especially the information systems at strategic and vital facilities and installations.“

We need to be ready to respond effectively to threats in the information space and better protect the relevant infrastructure, especially the information systems at strategic and vital facilities and installations. I ask you to report today on the priority steps you think we should take in this area.

The fourth main task is re-equipping the armed forces. The figures and objectives here are all set out in the state arms procurement programme through to 2020 and the Presidential Executive Order of May 7, 2012.

We meet regularly to look at the state defence procurement programme’s implementation. The main problems have been addressed, including those related to the programme’s planning and implementation. Instructions have been given to ensure that the troops get new arms and equipment in strict accordance with the deadlines. We have set personal responsibility for keeping to the deadlines and ensuring quality design and production of each type of weapon and equipment, and have set the order for their development and supply. 

I say again that all of these plans must be carried out. If a deadline needs to be moved, it must be for a valid reason and get approval first.

Fifth, we must continue our efforts to strengthen servicemen’s social guarantees. As we agreed, we need to make provisions in the budget for indexing the level of service pay and military pensions. 

We also need to raise the level of medical care and continue building modern military garrisons and bases with the necessary social infrastructure and put in place the conditions for full or part-time employment for servicemen’s family members.

Officers on the waiting list for permanent housing on January 1, 2012, will receive this housing this year, and from then on permanent housing will be allocated in regular fashion, without disruption. In this area we also need to develop more actively the system of military mortgage loans and build up the service housing stock.

Sixth, over the next two years we need to optimise the Defence Ministry’s military research system and establish a system of promising military research and find new incentives to attract university graduates into these research centres and get them to stay.

”we must continue our efforts to strengthen servicemen’s social guarantees. As we agreed, we need to make provisions in the budget for indexing the level of service pay and military pensions.“

Finally, we need to raise the level of pre-military service training. Our country had for many decades an effective system of preparing young people for military service. In schools and DOSAAF [abbreviation for Volunteer Society for Cooperation with the Army, Aviation and Fleet] centres schoolchildren and students learned some military skills and became familiar with military traditions. 

This kind of training is still needed today too, and so the Defence Ministry together with DOSAAF and the regional authorities need to complete work on establishing a network of regional centres to prepare people for military service in the near future.

We need to take the best of what the old system has to offer and at the same time use new methods and programmes too, that will help young people to prepare for today’s military service. Let me stress that we shouldn’t copy from the past, but need to take the best from that system and adapt it to today’s tasks, updating it with methods and programmes.

I want to hear concrete proposals on pre-military service training today, including on giving the system the teaching and material base it needs.

In conclusion, improving our military organisation is a strategic and multifaceted task that requires carefully planned action and coordinated efforts by all of the state agencies.

Let’s begin our work.

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