ABSTRACT
In December 1991, with the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Russian Federation (RF) became its successor state.1 The establishment of the Russian state was attended by huge political and military changes internally as well as externally. The Soviet configuration of distribution of power among party, security service and army was replaced by an indistinct make-up of institutions, eager to achieve influence. The armed forces were one of these contenders. Externally enormous geostrategic changes had occurred. The buffer zone of the Warsaw Pact in eastern Europe was annulled and the territory of the former USSR was now divided over the member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and over the Baltic States. These developments entailed serious consequences for the order of battle of Russia’s Armed Forces. The fact that a number of CIS states disagreed with Russia’s intention of forming RF-led CIS forces necessitated the formation of an RF Armed Forces and a Ministry of Defence (MoD). Next, the RF needed to formulate a security policy.
