ABSTRACT
Defense spending and the size of military forces in Russia and the other newly independent states of the former Soviet Union declined at an accelerating pace in 1992. Political, social, and economic developments added to the disarray. Cutbacks, shortages of funds, and the lack of housing facilities contributed to low morale within the services, while draft evasion and desertions rose to alarming proportions. The breakup of the former Soviet Union and the economic downturn fractured much of what was left of defense production, deprived the military of substantial portions of its infrastructure, and forced a reduction in operations and maintenance activities. The downward trends in defense extended to arms exports, although there were reported sales of sophisticated items to Iran, China, and other countries. Actual and threatened conflicts among and within several of the states, disputes over how to divide up military assets located in the non-Russian states, and the presence of large numbers of Russians in those states left unresolved many issues about the role of the Russian military in the former Soviet republics.
