MOSCOW, November 16 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that the armed forces should be supplied with new strategic weapons.
"We should spend more resources on the technological development of the Army and Navy, supply them with high-precision weapons, modern communications devices and radio-electronic equipment," Putin said at a meeting with Russia's top brass.
Putin, who is also the supreme commander-in-chief, has held regular annual meetings with the top brass since 2000 to summarize the Defense Ministry's work, gauge the current state of the armed forces, and to set goals for the following year.
The three-day gathering of Russia's top commanders will focus on operations, mobilization and combat training.
"We should focus on promising research work, mainly in the spheres of strategic weapons and aviation, as well as on reconnaissance and air control systems," he said.
The president also said it was necessary to stabilize military cadres and set definite criteria for promotions in the armed forces, adding that some commanding officers lack professional knowledge and personal authority.
"It is unbearable when education is replaced by formal administration, rudeness and indifference to what is going on in the barracks," Putin said.
Putin said that one of the priorities for the armed forces was that servicemen should all be able to operate up-to-date hardware and weapons, reiterating that beginning January 1, 2008 the term for mandatory service will be reduced from 24 to 12 months.
Addressing mandatory service, Putin said 70% of Russia's armed forces will operate on a contract basis by 2008.
"Seventy percent of military servicemen, including officers and warrant officers, will serve in the military on a contract basis," Putin said.
He added that 19 military formations have shifted to a contract-based service this year.
Last month, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said the military will not shift entirely to a contract basis, as a complete transformation was "impossible for financial and military reasons."
Russia will first man its high-alert units with contract troops, and about 85,000 soldiers and non-commissioned officers will turn professional in 2006.
A total 145,000 troops will be switched to contract service within four years, including 132,000 in the Army, and all remaining personnel in the border guard service and interior troops, according to the minister.
He said only contract servicemen will command recruits by 2011, a move aimed at eliminating hazing, which has become a high-profile issue in the military recently.
The Russian military was plagued by a series of hazing incidents in recent years that have led to the death or injury of low-ranking soldiers. The most notorious case involved a New Year assault on Private Andrei Sychyov by older servicemen, which led to the amputation of his legs and genitals and provoked an outcry throughout Russia.
"Sergeants with a fifth-grade education will no longer be in command of soldiers," Ivanov said.
The Russian military has been beset by problems since the collapse of the Soviet Union, including low pay for officers, outdated equipment and hazing among soldiers. The reform of the armed services is designed to increase officer pay, raise the combat efficiency of troops and provide the armed forces with modern hardware.
