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
