arms race

I am very pleased to announce the publication of my book Putin's Legacy: Russian Policy and the New Arms Race. Based on three years research, the book is intended as a critical, but hopefully optimistic, assessment of the current state of the Russian polity, and in particular that country's relationships with the rest of the world.
 
The following is an extract from the introduction: the book can be ordered from Amazon.

 
Start I, signed by Mikhail Gorbachev and George Bush Senior in the final days of the Soviet Union, expired on December 5th.
 
Unspecified problems have led to a delay in signing a successor treaty - START 2 - and so both side have continued to observe the old treaty by mutual agreement.
 

Russia's new nuclear-capable Bulava missile has suffered a new failure in testing which was the likely source of a mysterious light that appeared over Norway, Russian newspapers report today. The missile was test-fired from the Dmitry Donskoi submarine in the White Sea early Wednesday but failed at the third stage, the Kommersant and Vedomosti newspapers reported, quoting defence sources. The test was the 13th test-firing of the Bulava and the ninth time that the launch has failed.

 
The transformation of Russia's military into a smaller and more efficient professional force began during the Presidency of Vladimir Putin. His successor is carrying the programme forward, although he is finding it uncomfortably controversial: a great many powerful vested interests have thrived for decades on the bloated, Soviet-style armed forces, and the military system has become an integral part of the social fabric of Russian society.
 

Russia's defence industry needs to put more effort into providing the country's armed forces with new arms and equipment.
 
In his opening remarks at a meeting on developing the defence industry, Dmitry Medvedev said that an effective defence industry is essential for successfully modernising Russia’s armed forces and strengthening its position as an arms exporter. But despite efforts to support the sector, defence industry companies continue to modernise at a slow pace.
 

The final active phase of Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) exercises were held at the Matybulak military training ground this week, involving joint action by a Collective Rapid Reaction Force (CRRF) contingent to destroy enemy forces. Under the scenario, an armed group seized a chemicals plant and the CRRF had to neutralise the gunmen and free the hostages. 
 

Following President Obama's decision to scrap the proposed European Missile Defence Shield, the Kremlin has reportedly dropped plans to deploy ballistic missiles in the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad.
 

 
President Obama has announced the scrapping of the controversial European Missile Defence Shield. Following a "re-assessment" of Iran's nuclear capability, the shield is no longer deemed necessary. Russia, said the President, has posed no threat, and was not the real reason behind the programmes conception. Defence Secretary Robert Gates speculated that in the future, sanctions may be a more realistic means of influencing Iran.