The International Institute for Strategic Studies

Saturday 04 July 2009

Russian Military Reform Programme

The International Institute for Strategic Studies Russian Military Reform Programme was initiated in 1997, supported by a two-year grant from The Carnegie Corporation of New York. The programme's main focus is to develop a network of regular contacts between the new generation of military experts in Russia and in the West, particularly in the UK. In the last four years, the project has successfully combined London-based research work on the state of the Russian military with a series of seminars conducted in Russia by British military experts for mid-level Russian military officers.

As part of the programme, the IISS has organised a series of conferences and workshops on the economic, social, strategic, doctrinal and political aspects of military reform. The seminars were designed to make mid-level Russian officers aware of international experiences of military restructuring and to develop contacts between Russian and British officers, Defence Ministry officials and civilian defence and security-policy experts. The seminars focused on the practical aspects of military restructuring: the preparation of defence budgets; the social adaptation of retired servicemen; and the development of public-information strategies by defence ministries. Participants in these seminars included representatives from the Russian Ministry of Defence, Interior Troops, Border Guards, Security Council, Defence Committee of the State Duma, Regional Commands and military academies. In addition to key military officials, representatives from other government departments, the Russian parliament and civilian academic institutions were involved, as well as representatives of 28 Russian regions, from Kaliningrad to Vladivostok. Given that the seminars were funded partly by the UK Ministry of Defence, as a complement to its bilateral military-to-military cooperation programme, the majority of non-Russian participants were UK government representatives and IISS staff and members.

Past Conferences

4th Russian Military Delegation Visit On 23–26 November 2005 the International Institute for Strategic Studies’s Russia and Eurasia Programme, together with the Harvard University programme for Senior Russian Military Officers, hosted a visit by a group of senior officials from the Russian Ministry of Defence. The group, which was led by Colonel-General Yuri Kirillov ,Head of Military Academy of Strategic Missile Forces, included representatives of military academies and institutes, Space Forces, General Staff, the...
Visit to Uzbekistan On 21–24 November 2005 Oksana Antonenko visited Uzbekistan where she met with experts from the Institute of World Economy and Diplomacy, the Center for Political Studies, the Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of Uzbekistan and independent experts. Ms Antonenko also spoke at an international conference organised by the University of World Economy and Diplomacy, the Center for Economic Studies and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation on ’Post-Conflict Reconstruction of...
Shanghai Co-operation Organisation & Security On 7–11 November, Oksana Antonenko, Senior Fellow for Russia and Eurasia, and Colonel Christopher Langton, Editor of The Military Balance and the Head of the Defence Analysis Department, visited Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. This visit was part of an IISS project on the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation (SCO) and Security in Central Asia which is funded by the Sasakawa Peace Foundation (Japan). The aim of the project is to analyse the development of the SCO and prospects for establishing...
Hosting Counterterrorism Officials: Russi On 10–15 October 2005, the IISS Russia and Eurasia Programme hosted senior Russian officials responsible for counter-terrorist policies in the Southern Federal District of the Russian Federation, which includes the North Caucasus. The group included Nikolai Fedoryak, Deputy Presidential Representative in the Southern Federal District, Arkady Yedelev, Deputy Minister of Interior and Head of the Regional Operational HQ for Chechnya and senior officials from the Federal Security Service,...
Seminar with Russian MoD and Harvard Uni On 26–27 September 2005, the IISS Russia and Eurasia Programme participated in a Round Table Meeting in Moscow, following an invitation from the Russian Ministry of Defence and Harvard University. This was the first reciprocal visit organised by the Russian Ministry of Defence for officers who took part in the joint IISS–Harvard programmes for senior Russian military officials, which have been underway since 2002. Oksana Antonenko, the IISS Senior Fellow for Russia and Eurasia,...
IISS-Harvard - Senior Russian Officers On November 23-26 2004, the IISS Russia and Eurasia Programme and Harvard National Security Program co-hosted the fourth visit of a group of senior Russian officers and policy-makers. The visit was hosted by Oksana Antonenko, senior Fellow for Russia and Eurasia and Col. Christopher Langton, Editor of Military Balance and the head of the Defence Analysis Department. The theme of this visit was “Crisis-Management Strategies”. The programme of the visit included briefings at the...
Russian MoD Senior Officials visit IISS The annual visit by senior Russian Ministry of Defence officials to the UK took place from 20 – 24 January 2004. As previously, the visit was organised jointly by IISS Russia and Eurasia Programme and Harvard National Security Program in collaboration with the UK Ministry of Defence and the Northern Ireland Office.
Civil-Military Interface in Counter-Terrorism 15 January 2003The seminar formed part of the programme for a senior military delegation from Russia hosted by the IISS Russia/Eurasia programme for a week in January. The purpose of their visit was to discuss counter-terrorist operations and for the Russians to learn about the UK experience in Northern Ireland.
Russia’s Non-Proliferation Policies On 25 February 2002 The International Institute for Strategic Studies held a half-day seminar on 'Russia’s Nuclear Non-Proliferation Policies and the Prospects for Enhancing European-Russian co-operation'. The seminar was addressed by Academician Victor Mikhailov, who is Russia’s former Minister of Atomic Energy. Mr Mikhailov is currently the Head of the Institute of Strategic Stability under the auspices of the Ministry of Atomic Energy and remains one of the leading experts in...
Socio-Economic Problems of Retired Servicemen IISS Russian Military Reform Programme4-6 June 2001, Nizhniy Novgorod, Russia The conference was a part of the IISS programme on the social adaptation of retired servicemen in Russia. It was organised by IISS jointly with the Russian "Partner" Foundation for Social Adaptation of Retired Servicemen with support of the Nizhniy Novgorod Regional Administration. The conference was attended by representatives of more than 30 regions across Russia as well as representatives of the...
European Trends in Military Restructuring IISS Russian Military Reform Programme28 February-2 March 2001, Moscow This conference was held at the former Frunze Military Academy, which has now been redesignated the Combined Arms Academy. The purpose of the seminar was twofold. Firstly, it aimed to help enhance understanding of European strategies for reform of their armed forces to meet post Cold-War security challenges among the new generation of military leaders in Russia. This aspect of the conference was seen as especially important,...
Public Information Strategies IISS Russian Military Reform Programme17-18 June 2000, Suzdal The seminar, organised by the IISS together with Russia's Institute for Strategic Studies, brought together the key policy-makers involved in developing public-information strategies during recent conflicts in Bosnia, Kosovo, the African Great Lakes region, Northern Ireland and Chechnya and leading journalists covering armed conflicts. Russian and international participants exchanged views on how new developments in international...
Retired Service Personnel in Far East Region IISS Russian Military Reform Programme17-19 May 2000, Vladivostok The conference promoted a dialogue between the Russian Ministry of Defence and representatives of the Far Eastern Military District Command, the Pacific Fleet and regional non-governmental organisations dealing with related social issues on developing social-adaptation programmes and centres for retiring servicemen in the Far East. The representatives of social-adaptation centres in European Russia shared their experience with...
Defence Economics: the Western Experience IISS Russian Military Reform Programme21-22 February 2000 The seminar brought together UK and Russian experts to discuss defence budgeting, auditing, economic assessment and forecasting of defence programmes, and parliamentary and civilian control over defence expenditure. Representatives of the UK and Russian National Audit Offices shared views on cooperation with their respective parliaments to audit defence programmes. Representatives from the UK and Russian Ministries of Defence shared...
A Non-proliferation Policy Agenda IISS Russian Military Reform Programme29-31 October 1999, Moscow The seminar discussed Russian and European perspectives on the new challenges for non-proliferation policies ahead of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference. In the background were worsening Russia-NATO relations, US failure to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and US-Russian tensions over US plans for a national missile-defence system. Leading experts on non-proliferation and arms-control issues from...
Security Challenges in North-east Asia IISS Russian Military Reform Programme23 September 1999, Far Eastern State University, Vladivostok The round-table discussion was organised during a visit by Programme Director Oksana Antonenko and IISS Assistant Director Terence Taylor to Vladivostok and Khabarovsk at the invitation of the Russian government's Council for the Retraining and Resettlement of Military Personnel. The group's hosts in Vladivostok were the Primorsky Krai administration, the Commander of the Russian Pacific Fleet,...
Approaches to Resettlement and Re-Training IISS Russian Military Reform ProgrammeSeptember 1999, Khabarovsk The round-table discussion was held during during the visit by Programme Director Oksana Antonenko and IISS Assistant Director Terence Taylor to Vladivostok and Khabarovsk. They were accompanied by the head of the Russian government's Council for the Retraining and Resettlement of Military Personnel, General Mikhail Moiseev, and his deputy Major-General Anatoly Goloborov.The discussion was hosted by the newly appointed Commander...
Military Reform - Economic and Social IISS Russian Military Reform Programme22-25 May 1998 The seminar concentrated on practical issues in three broad areas. The first part of the seminar was devoted to the economic and social implications of personnel cuts and covered UK, German, Ukrainian and Russian experiences of running resettlement and social-adaptation programmes for retiring military personnel. The second area of discussion was the reform of military budgets, including the development of civilian (including parliamentary)...
Military Restructuring - aspects IISS Russian Military Reform Programme24-26 April 1998, Moscow The seminar focused on the strategic and operational aspects of military restructuring. The agenda included such issues as transition from conscript to professional armed forces, development of rapid-reaction forces, new priorities in weapons and equipment procurement and military support to the civil power. Strategic issues, such as changes in the European security environment and their implications for the development of Russian...
The Future Russian Role in European Security IISS Russian Military Reform Programme31 January-1 February 1997, Moscow The workshop addressed post-Cold War security challenges in Europe as well as specific issues such as the prospects for improving Russia-NATO relations and arms control. The Russian participants stressed the need to focus on common security problems and interests rather than on institutional arrangements, such as an enlarged NATO. Discussions about improving Russia-NATO relations tended to centre on Russian criticism that...