Mr. Putin demanded that the troops be geared to the nature and direction of threats by the end of 2005. "The composition, structure and strength of the armed forces must be geared to the nature and direction of current and future threats by the end of 2005," said the president. "Effective and combat ready armed forces are a crucial factor protecting Russia from any forms of military-political pressure or potential aggression."
The main task of internal command agencies is to improve the combat ability of the troops, above all, permanent-readiness units that must become the core and the main striking force of the army, Mr. Putin said. "Combat training must be based on modern experience and development trends of the art of war."
The president recalled "major decisions" taken in the provision of equipment to the troops and cited positive examples of the creation of a basic missile system for the land forces and new-generation small arms, and the successful completion of trials of a naval nuclear missile system.
Vladimir Putin called for a saving attitude to technical rearmament. "These resources must be spent carefully but effectively, sparingly as good housekeepers do, and with best results," the president said.
He said that the accumulation mortgage program for servicemen must be closely monitored and that the government would allocate an additional 2 billion rubles ($1 = 28.67 rubles) for the construction of housing for servicemen in 2005.
"The deployment of Russian military bases [in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan] has greatly strengthened the collective security system in Central Asia," said Vladimir Putin. "It is being used to create conditions for neutralizing terrorist and extremist attacks in the region and increase the defense capability of Russia and its allies in the southern direction."
