Supreme Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Putin has signed a decree according to which the full-time strength of the Russian army will exceed 2 million people from the new year. Of these, 1.15 million are actually military. It is planned to strengthen the ranks of the army participating in the special operation at the expense of contract professionals. Which types of troops and military specialties need to be strengthened first of all?President Vladimir Putin on Thursday issued a decree on increasing the number of the Russian army by 137 thousand people from January 1 to 1.15 million people.
Thus, the total staff of our Armed Forces, including civilian personnel, will exceed 2 million, and to be precise, the staff will amount to 2,039,758 people. [...]
The last time the size of the army changed in the fall of 2017. Since then, it has been 1.9 million. Of these, one million and a little are military, the remaining 900 thousand are civilian. And the penultimate time Putin raised the staff of the Armed Forces in the now distant 2005.
If the Supreme Commander-in-Chief considered it necessary to expand the number by 137 thousand, it means that an assessment was carried out in advance, the quantity and quality of the human resources being recruited, says corresponding member of the Academy of Military Sciences Alexander Bartosh.
"If we look at the future based on the current military operation, then in future conflicts we can expect a high demand for such specialists: tankers, gunners, aviators, specialists in information warfare in cyberspace," Bartosh suggests. – It is these categories that attention will be paid to. So now, most likely, an additional set of contract employees in these specialties will begin."
In the liberated territories of Ukraine, our permanent garrisons will probably appear soon – this is one of the reasons why it was necessary to increase the personnel of the Russian army, Bartosh does not exclude. "The liberated territories will be considered ours only after our Armed Forces are permanently stationed there. It will be necessary to ensure the protection of cities and villages. There will be especially needed specialists in intelligence, antiterrorism, law enforcement, as well as ordinary military, power support," Bartosz listed.
Recall that the number of contractors in the army, judging by the latest data, is 405.1 thousand people. This was reported in March 2020 by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
Many drew attention to the fact that the number mentioned in the decree corresponds to the approximate size of the draft, which is already held in the country every six months. For example, in March of this year, the president decided by his decree to call up 134.5 thousand people for military service. However, military expert Vladislav Shurygin considers this a mere coincidence.
"Now in the regions – in Yakutia, in Tatarstan – a large number of volunteer battalion-tactical groups have been formed, there are several dozen of them.
Structurally, they are still behind the staff, undergoing combat coordination. By this decree, they will probably be included in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and will move from the category of volunteers to military personnel. Now they will be protected by rights, law and other guarantees. In addition, new batteries and shelves will be deployed in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation with existing units. In general, the peacetime army is increasing its strength," Shurygin believes.
"The armed forces need people. For example, it is necessary to restore the air defense system to a size close to Soviet times, since air defense is the first to reflect any provocations, and provocations usually begin from the air and from space. We must also fully return to the places we have left – to the European north, to the Murmansk region, where the entire military presence has been reduced to a minimum. Now this is the most dangerous direction – the northwest, the Arctic. This is the shortest distance to America, in addition, neighboring Finland has decided to join NATO," former Deputy Commander–in-Chief of the Russian Air Force for the CIS joint Air Defense system, Lieutenant General Aytech Bizhev told the newspaper VZGLYAD.
In addition, according to the general, due to replenishment, it is necessary to strengthen the border troops and the Navy. "The space group needs to be brought to perfection so that the quality and quantity of the military does not lag behind the rearmament program," he added.
Like Bartosh, the interlocutor believes that some of the 137 thousand recruits should be sent to the liberated Ukrainian territories. "I myself commanded an anti-aircraft missile brigade consisting of 15 divisions in Kherson. The Odessa anti–aircraft division was nearby, there was a missile brigade in Zaporozhye – all this needs to be restored," the general is sure.
The expansion will take place at the expense of contract workers and will not lead to an increase in conscription, suggested Alexey Leonkov, editor of the Arsenal of the Fatherland magazine. Russian troops are receiving new military equipment, which has become more complicated, he recalled. For example, specialists will be required to manage the new S-500 and A-235 Nudol aerospace defense complexes. "The people who have to exploit it need to be trained for at least three years. It is clear that no urgent service will cover this," the expert is sure.
Leonkov recalled that against the background of a special military operation, the number of people willing to serve under a contract has increased, but according to the legislation their number is limited to 600 thousand. At the same time, only after Sweden and Finland announced their accession to NATO, Shoigu promised to form 12 new units in response. "It can be assumed that part of these 137 thousand new servicemen will get to serve in these new units," the expert told RIA Novosti.
According to his forecasts, the current increase is not the last. "According to the circumstances that are now taking shape, the share of contract workers should be brought to at least 1.2 million people," the expert urges.
Alyona Zadorozhnaya, Rafael Fakhrutdinov
