Since 1993, February 23 has been known as...

February 23 has taken on a special significance this year. Despite the radical political and economic reforms in the country between 1993 and 2009, the armed forces retained their Soviet structure and character. Military reforms were mostly limited to reductions in manpower and equipment and did not drastically affect the military"s organizational structure.

This year things have changed completely. Since the fall of 2008, the military has been undergoing its most radical changes since the reforms initiated by Dmitry Milyutin in the second half of the 19th century. These reforms saw the introduction of such present-day elements of the armed forces" structure as military districts, conscription, the emergency mobilization reserve, etc.

The reform initiated by Anatoly Serdyukov is still far from complete, and it is difficult to envision the military"s structure 15 to 20 years from now. Nevertheless, this is arguably one of the most important issues for the country, as building

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