Russia's 2014 annexation of the Crimean Peninsula, activity in Eastern Ukraine, saber rattling regarding the Baltics, deployment to Syria, and more assertive behavior along its borders have piqued interest in the Russian Armed Forces. This increased interest has caused much speculation about their structure, capabilities, and future development. Interestingly, this speculation has created many different, and often contradictory, narratives about these issues. At any given time, assessments of the Russian Armed Forces vary between the idea of an incompetent and corrupt conscript army manning decrepit Soviet equipment and relying solely on brute force, to the idea of an elite military filled with Special Operations Forces who were the "polite people" or "little green men" seen on the streets in Crimea. This book will attempt to split the difference between these radically different ideas by shedding some light on what exactly the Russian Ground Forces consist of, how they are structured, how they fight, and how they are modernizing.

Personnel System-DOSAFF--Conscripts--Contract NCOs--Officers--The Russian General Staff System--The General Staff Personnel System: How Russia Does "Joint"--The Reserve System--Pay in the Russian Army--Ethics in the Russian Armed Forces--Rank Structure of the Russian Armed Forces Women in the Military--Structure and Echelonment-What Kind of Military Action Does Russia Need to Prepare for?--What Constitutes the Russian Military?--The 2008 "New Look" Reforms--Military District System Reform--The Role of the Army Group--Transistion to the Brigade Structure--Reintroduction of the Division?--Building Blocks of the Russian Brigade--The Battalion Tactical Group in Relation to Mission Command--The Battalion Tactical Group in Relation to Operational Art--Elements of Offensive and Defensive Combat--Military Decision Making Process--The Defense--Defensive Theory--Squad in the Defense--Platoon in the Defense--Company in the Defense--Battalion in the Defense--Brigade in the Defense--The Offense--Offensive Theory--Squad in the Offense--Company in the Offense--Brigade in the Offense--Tactical Maneuver--The March--Meeting Battle (Engagement)--Flanking Detachment--Relief in Place--Breaking Contact and Withdrawal--Fighting in an Encirclement and Breakout--Maneuver Defense--Soviet/Russian Tactical Nuclear Planning and Future War--Branches of Arms--Motorized Rifle Troops--Tank Troops--Artillery Troops--Artillery Troops--Air Defense Troops--Specialty Branches--Reconnaissance, Spetsnaz, and SOF--Signal Troops--Electronic Warfare Troops--Engineer Troops--NBC Defense Troops--Material Technical Support Troops--Other Tactical Considerations--Airborne (VDV)--Coastal Defense Troops--Military Police--Arms Procurement Process--UAV Development Process--UAV Development--Robotics in the Russian Armed Forces--Cold Weather and Arctic Combat--Close Air Support--Russian Military Symbology.