Blog Highlights

Major Russian War Games Underway - September, 2008

And the message is: yes, we mutilated your Georgia and if you even think about intervening, we will mutilate you as well...

Arevordi

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Major Russian War Games Underway

Russian war games: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyow0fxB1BM

Russian war games:
http://rutube.ru/tracks/1048225.html...3def2fc372a135RUSSIA'S GLOBAL WAR GAMES


September, 2008

This week the Russian armed forces began month-long strategic military exercises called Stability 2008. According to the Defense Ministry, the scenario suggests "a worsening of the situation and an escalation of crisis situations into military confrontation" (www.mil.ru, September 20). The composition of the forces and ministries that will be involved in the exercise does not leave any doubt—it’s a scenario of a nuclear war in which Russia and its ally Belarus will face the United States. and NATO. The Russian military, intelligence and special services, and other executive government agencies and ministries, including local governments, together with their Belarusian counterparts must jointly "liquidate military conflicts, insuring strategic stability." The exercises will involve mobilization and deployment to forward positions of forces in the Moscow and Far East Military Districts and the deployment of the navy in the North Sea, the Atlantic, the Baltic Sea, and the Pacific. Three air armies and one air defense corps, the Strategic Rocket Troops, strategic bombers, and Space Troops will be involved as well as Belarusian military formations. This exercise involves all of Russia’s nuclear forces, most of the battle-ready navy, and the Air Force, but only partially the army. This implies a predominantly indirect war with a far-off enemy—the United States—on sea, in the air, and in space, using nuclear weapons, with a limited engagement of army ground forces (www.mil.ru, September 20).


Of course, only a fraction of the manpower and hardware that would be needed in a real military confrontation between Russia and NATO will be deployed during Stability-2008 maneuvers. This is mostly a staff exercise to prepare the military, the Interior Ministry, the special services and civilian executive government to work together in a possible future confrontation with the West. Russia may some day move to secure its vital interests and defend its citizens (as was the case with Georgia in August) in other parts of the former USSR, say, in Ukraine's Crimea. The West may decide to intervene. According to Air Force chief General Alexander Zelin, during Stability 2008, Russia’s air defenses will repulse an enemy air onslaught, while Russia will use its strategic bombers and other nuclear capabilities to enforce peace and "stability".


According to Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, the maneuvers have been planned for a year; they are not a reaction to current political events (RIA-Novosti, September 23). Indeed, such massive military exercises with an outright anti-Western scenario could not have been improvised at short notice in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Georgia in August. Apparently, the present atmosphere of East-West confrontation was envisaged long before by military planners in the Defense Ministry just as the invasion of Georgia itself was planned in advance. While military staffs and other parts of the executive branch will be preparing to meet the challenges and consequences of an air, sea, and space confrontation with the West on home turf, a small naval force led by the nuclear cruiser Pyotr Velikii will sail to the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, and the Caribbean to show the flag and the finger to the United States, Russia's archrival. Long-range bombers will fly out to far-off waters and coordinate their maneuvers with the Pyotr Velikii. Russian journalists and TV crews specially selected by military authorities have been posted on board the Pyotr Velikii to cover the planned two-month voyage. Since the ship sailed on September 23, Russian state TV has been showing daily satellite-transmitted reports on the progress of the mission from on board. The exercises Stability-2008 and the voyage of the naval force are getting massive coverage in the government-controlled Russian press. It was reported that the Pyotr Velikii will visit the Russian naval outpost in Tartus, Syria, that ten Russian warships are already in Syria, and that "aircraft carriers and cruisers may be based there" in the future. The visit of the Pyotr Velikii to Syria, it is said, will transform Russia into a naval superpower.


There is, in fact, not a single Russian warship based in the run-down Soviet-era naval outpost in Tartus, and the Pyotr Velikii is too big to dock there. Russia's only aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov is again in disrepair and not ready to sail. The Kuznetsov was built in a shipyard in Mykolaiv, Ukraine. Russia does not have a shipyard capable of building any more carriers. The voyage of the Pyotr Velikii and the Stability 2008 exercises seem to be mostly publicity stunts to boost anti-Western propaganda at home and send a clear message to Washington. Russia's rulers want to be taken seriously and can make trouble in different parts of the world if not respected; but they are ready to make deals: Do not send warships to the Black Sea to help Georgia and we will not go into your backyard; respect our sphere of influence and we will respect yours—or else. The offer resembles youth gangland politics, but Vladimir Putin grew up in a bad neighborhood in St. Petersburg.

Source: http://jamestown.org/edm/article.php?article_id=2373395

Stability-2008 Military Exercises Begin in Russia



The Russian Armed Forces began the Stability-2008 strategic command staff exercises on Monday. These war games will be held “in compliance with the combat readiness plan of the Russian Armed Forces from September 22 to October 21 under the command of Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov,” the press service of the Russian Defense Ministry told Itar-Tass. “Many federal bodies of the executive authorities, including the Interior Ministry, the Emergencies Ministry, the Justice Ministry, the Federal Penitentiary Service, the Federal Security Service and Transport Ministry have developed a scenario of the exercises in cooperation with the Belarussian Defense Ministry,” Serdyukov told reporters earlier.

He noted that the scenario of the strategic command staff exercises envisages “to train the deployment of the Russian Armed Forces, combat missions of troops to localize and fight armed conflicts, terrorist activity, natural disasters and man-made catastrophes in order to provide strategic deterrence and security of the Russia-Belarus Union State.” “The Russian strategic command staff exercises Stability-2008 and the Belarussian complex operative exercises Autumn-2008 are held to examine the combat capability of the power-wielding structures” of the countries in order to ensure security of the Union State, the press service of the Belarussian Defense Ministry said.

“The Stability-2008 exercises are a core of an operative and combat training” of the armed forces in Russia and Belarus, acting spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry Colonel Alexander Drobyshevsky said. He emphasized that “the Stability-2008 war games include a range of operative, special and command staff exercises and training sessions at various scales that have the coordinated targets, missions and time limits.” The Stability-2008 exercises, “which are being held in various regions of Russia and Belarus, have the common scenario.” “The Stability-2008 exercises will have two stages. The scenario of the drill envisages a gradually deteriorating situation when crisis situations are growing into armed conflicts,” Drobyshevsky said.

“The Stability-2008 strategic command staff exercises involve military command bodies, troops and military commissariats from the Moscow and Far East military districts, the Baltic, Northern and Pacific Fleets, the 11th Air Force/Air Defense Army, the 16th and 37th Air Force Armies, the 32nd Air Defense Corps, the Strategic Missile Troops and the Space Troops, units and organisations of the Russian logistic forces from the Russian Defense Ministry, operative groups from the federal executive authorities, as well as military command bodies and units from the Belarussian Armed Forces,” Drobyshevsky said. The Stability-2008 exercises will last until October 21.

Source: http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2....6169&PageNum=0

In other developments:

Medvedev Observes Missile Test-Launch in Urals


Russian President Dmitry Medvedev observed the test launch of a tactical missile in a command and staff exercise in the southern Urals on Friday, a senior military commander said. A Tochka-U (SS-21 Scarab) short-range tactical ballistic missile was launched at 3:10 p.m. Moscow time (11:10 GMT) at the Donguz proving ground in the Orenburg Region as part of a 74-day exercise, Ground Forces Commander Gen. Vladimir Boldyrev said. He said a total of 40,000 servicemen were taking part in the exercise in the Volga-Urals Military District, named Tsentr-2008, and that it was the largest exercise of its kind in 20 years. The drills involve motorized rifle, tank, artillery, antiaircraft, missile, and support units with over 700 armored vehicles (tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, and self-propelled artillery systems) and more than 40 combat aircraft and helicopters. The Tochka-U is a 1989 modification of the Tochka missile system that went into service with the Soviet military in 1976. It has an effective range of 120 km.

Source: http://en.rian.ru/russia/20080926/117145587.html

Russia Plans Own Nuclear Umbrella


Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has announced plans to build a "guaranteed nuclear deterrent system" to be in place by 2020. He said he wanted military chiefs to submit plans by December. He called for a programme to build new nuclear submarines as well as "a system of aerospace defence". The announcement comes just weeks after Russia accused America of starting a new arms race by siting part of its missile defence shield in Poland. "We must guarantee nuclear deterrence under various political and military conditions by 2020," Mr Medvedev told military commanders. He said it was necessary to build "new types of armaments", and to "achieve dominance in airspace", according to quotes carried by the Itar-Tass news agency. "We plan to start serial production of warships, primarily nuclear-powered submarines carrying cruise missiles and multifunctional submarines," Mr Medvedev said. "We will develop an aerospace defense system, as well," he added.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7638356.stm

Submarine Force Added Medvedev’s Words to Arsenal


Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev inspected Kamchatka yesterday. He visited Saint George the Victorious submarine, where he talked over the financial crisis with sailors. In the next effort, the president chaired a meeting on the Far East problems. Similar to the previous days, Medvedev urged bureaucrats to work more actively, and his rhetoric was very heated. Once in Kamchatka, Medvedev immediately headed for the submarine base located close to Vilyuchinsk village. It was raining heavily, and the president descended to Saint George the Victorious submarine to see its interior and speak with the sailors in the chief cabin. “The events are pushing us, and we will speed up organization of our armed forces,” Medvedev explained to the crew. “First of all, it is upgrading the armed forces; secondly, it is strengthening the status of a serviceman, including increased allowances, normal and qualitative dwellings, sound set of social services.” The global financial crisis won’t affect Russia’s fleet, the president assured sailors, pointing out that the construction of new submarines will continue irrespective of any crisis and the country has the force and the funds for it. At the final meeting dedicated to Far East development, the president focused on the key concern of the region – low living standards and outflow of residents as a result of it. The president urged ministers to accelerate elaboration of the concept for Far East’s social and economic development up to 2020.

Source: http://www.kommersant.com/p1031441/r...edev_Far_East/

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