Felttoget i Georgien: En katalysator for russiske militærreformer

av Karsten Jakob Møller

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Karsten Jakob Møller

Om Karsten Jakob Møller

(f. 1947), generalmajor (pens.), er senioranalytiker og leder af forskningsenheden Forsvars- og sikkerhedspolitiske studier ved Dansk Institut for Internationale Studier (DIIS). Har bl.a. gjort tjeneste som kompagni- og bataljonschef ved den Kgl. Livgarde, chef for 1. Jyske Brigade (1995–97) og Den Nordisk-Polske Brigade i Bosnien (1997). Har gjort stabstjeneste i Forsvarets Efterretningstjeneste (1979–82), været kontorchef for Forsvarsministeriets NATO-kontor (1990–92), direktør for Forsvarets Forskningstjeneste (1993–95) og Forsvarstataché i Rusland, Belarus og Ukraine (1998–2000). Fra 2001–07 chef for Forsvarsakademiet. Han er forfatter bl.a. til bogen Fra kaos til Putin. Brudstykker af det moderne Ruslands historie (2008).

English abstract

Abstract: The Military Campaign in Georgia: A catalyst for Russian military reform

The Russian-Georgian war in 2008 revealed serious weaknesses in the Russian Armed Forces. In the wake of the war the political leadership in Russia seized the opportunity to push forward with a number of reforms which had been underway for quite some time, but which had been met with stubborn resistance by the military leadership. In October 2008 Minister of Defence Anatolii Serdiukov launched a comprehensive initiative to reduce the numbers of officers dramatically and to enhance the intake of professional soldiers, thus in effect transforming the army from a huge mobilization army to a smaller, professional army. The most important task ahead will be to equip the armed forces with armaments suited for modern warfare. The article discusses the various elements of the current reform initiative in light of the experiences from former attempts to reform the armed forces, as well as the main obstacles to the current reform: the continued resistance within the officer corps and the cost of modernizing the army in the midst of an economic crisis.

Keywords: defence budget, equipment, military reform, personnel, Russia