ABSTRACT
The Security Council is the main military and political body controlling Russia's defence establishment, while the Ministry of Defence is responsible for developing and implementing military, technical and personnel policy. The establishment of parliamentary committees overseeing security policy and the budget facilitates civilian control over the military. Military reform at first was conducted against the background of a severe economic crisis and tight budgets, with sharply reduced defence spending, and with only $7 billion spent on defence in 2001. Like America's regularly revised National Security Strategy, Russia's Military Doctrine deals not only with narrowly military issues but provides an overview of the strategic challenges facing the country. The doctrines, strategies and concepts deal with different issues, but together they convey Russia's main foreign and security policy concerns.
