The armed forces of the countries of the former USSR. The USSR

The year 1917 became a turning point in the history of our country, in the course of two revolutions the previous monarchical state system was liquidated, in all spheres of life, outdated institutions and bodies of tsarist power were destroyed. The internal situation in the state was rather complicated: it was necessary to defend the new socialist system and the achievements of the October Revolution. The external situation was also extremely dangerous for the Bolsheviks: military operations continued with Germany, which was leading an active offensive and approached directly to the borders of our homeland.

The birth of the workers 'and peasants' Red Army

The young Soviet state needed protection. In the first months after the October Revolution, the functions of the army were performed by the Red Guard, which by the beginning of 1918 had over 400 thousand soldiers. However, the poorly armed and untrained guard could not seriously oppose the Kaiser's troops, so on January 15, 1918, the Council of People's Commissars adopted a decree establishing the Red Army (Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army).

Already in February, the new army entered into battles with German fighters in the Pskov and Narva regions, on the territory of Belarus and Ukraine. It is worth noting that the initial service life was equal to six months, but after some time (in October 1918) it increased to one year. Shoulder straps and insignia were abolished in the army as a relic of the tsarist regime. The troops of the Red Army took an active part in the struggle against the White Guards, with the interventionists from the Entente countries, and played an important role in consolidating Soviet power in the center and in the localities.

Army of the USSR in the 1920s-1930s

The goal of the Red Army, which the Soviet government set for it, was fulfilled: the internal situation in the state after the end of the Civil War became peaceful, the threat of expansion from the Western powers also gradually began to fade away. On December 30, 1922, a significant event took place not only in the history of Russia, but also in the whole world - four countries (RSFSR, Ukrainian SSR, BSSR, ZSFSR) united into one state - the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

The progressive development of the USSR army took place:

1. Special military schools were created to train officers and command personnel.
2. In 1922, another decree of the Council of People's Commissars was issued, which proclaimed universal military service, and also established new terms of service - from 1, 5 to 4 years (depending on the type of troops).
3. All citizens of the union republics, regardless of their national, religious, racial, social origin, at the age of 20 (from 1924 to 21) were obliged to serve in the army in the USSR.
4. A system of deferrals was envisaged: they could be obtained due to study in educational institutions, as well as for family reasons.

The geopolitical situation in the world was heated to the limit due to the aggressive foreign policy of Nazi Germany, another threat of war was created, in this regard, the army was modernized: the military industry was actively developing, including aircraft and shipbuilding, and the production of weapons. The size of the army in the USSR in the 1930s steadily increased: in 1935 it amounted to 930 thousand people, three years later this figure reached 1.5 million soldiers. By the beginning of 1941, there were more than 5 million soldiers in the Soviet army.

The Red Army of the USSR at the first stage of the Great Patriotic War (1941-1942)

On June 22, 1941, there was a treacherous attack by German troops on the Soviet Union. It was a real test of the strength of not only the entire people, but also the Red Army. It is worth noting that, in addition to progressive trends in military development, there were also negative ones:

1. In the 1930s. a number of prominent military leaders (Tukhachevsky, Uborevich, Yakir, etc.) and commanders were accused of crimes against the Soviet state and shot, which contributed to the deterioration of the situation with military personnel. There was a shortage of talented and competent army commanders.
2. In fact, the not very successful conduct of hostilities by the Soviet army in the war with Finland (1939-1940) showed its unpreparedness for battles with a serious enemy.

A number of statistics indicate the military superiority of the Third Reich at the beginning of the war:

• in terms of the total number of troops, Germany surpassed the army of the USSR - 8.5 million people. against 4.8 million people;
• in the number of guns and mortars - 47.2 thousand for the Nazis against 32.9 thousand for the Soviet Union.

During the summer and autumn of 1941, German troops swiftly seized territory after territory, approaching Moscow in the fall of the same year. Only the heroic actions of the Red Army in the battle near Moscow did not allow the plans of the "blitzkrieg" to come true, the enemy was driven back from the capital. The myth of the invincible German war machine was destroyed.

However, the first half of 1942 was not so rosy: the Nazis went on the offensive, were successful in the battles in the Crimea and in the Kharkov battle, the threat of the capture of Stalingrad was created. In the second half of 1942, the quantitative growth of our army and qualitative changes took place:

• the volume of supplies of military equipment and ammunition increased;
• the system of training officer-command personnel was improved;
• the role of tank forces and artillery increased.

The Battle of Stalingrad, which began in 1942, ended in February 1943 with a successful counter-offensive by the Red Army, which defeated the troops of Field Marshal von Paulus. From now on, the strategic initiative in the Great Patriotic War passed to the USSR.

1943 was a turning point for the Soviet army: our soldiers successfully conducted military operations, won the Battle of Kursk, liberated Kursk and Belgorod from the Nazis, and gradually began to liberate the country's territory from the aggressor. The troops became much more combat-ready, in comparison with the first stage of the war, the army leadership skillfully implemented complex tactical maneuvers, brilliant strategy and ingenuity. At the beginning of the year, previously canceled shoulder straps were introduced, the system of ranks in the army in the USSR was restored, Suvorov and Nakhimov schools were opened throughout the country.

In the spring of 1944, the Soviet army reached the borders of the territory of the USSR and began the liberation of the European countries oppressed by German Nazism. In April 1945, a successful offensive began on Berlin, the capital of the Third Reich. On the night of May 8-9, the German military leadership signed an act of surrender. In August 1945, the Soviet Union launched a war against militaristic Japan, defeated the Kwantung Army and forced Emperor Hirohito to admit defeat.

In total, over 34 million Soviet citizens took part in these long four years of hostilities, a third of whom did not return from the fields of the Second World War. During the war, the Red Army demonstrated its readiness to fight ruthlessly against any enemy encroaching on our homeland, liberated the countries of Europe from fascist enslavement, and gave them a peaceful sky overhead.

Cold war

After the end of World War II and the death of JV Stalin, the foreign policy doctrine of the USSR changed: peaceful rivalry and coexistence between the countries of the socialist and capitalist camp were proclaimed. However, this doctrine was a kind of formality, since in fact, already in the 1940s. the so-called cold war began - a state of political, cultural confrontation between the Soviet Union, the ATS member states, on the one hand, against the United States and the West (NATO), on the other.

Conflicts that threatened the world with another military clash regularly flared up: the Korean War (1950-1953), the Berlin (1961) and Caribbean (1962) crises. But despite this, N.S. Khrushchev, as the leader of the Soviet state, believed that it was necessary to reduce the army, the arms race led to uneven economic development. During the 1950-1960s. the size of the army decreased from 5.7 million people. (1955) up to 3.3 million people. (1963-1964). During this period, the vertical of power in the domestic army was finally formed: its leadership belonged to the Minister of Defense, and the Central Committee of the CPSU, the Council of Ministers and the Supreme Soviet of the USSR also owned the control. The composition of the Soviet armed forces is being formed. They included:

• ground troops;
• air Force;
• navy;
• strategic missile forces (Strategic Rocket Forces).

Armed forces of the USSR in the era of detente

In the early 1970s. an important event took place - the signing of agreements in Helsinki (1972), which for some time managed to suspend the arms race and confrontation between the countries of the socialist and capitalist camps. However, this period was not calm for the Soviet army: the leadership of the Central Committee of the CPSU actively used it to support regimes friendly to the Soviet Union in African countries.

The largest armed conflicts of the 70s of the twentieth century, in which the USSR and the Soviet army were directly involved, were the Arab-Israeli war (1967-1974), the war in Angola (1975-1992) and Ethiopia (1977-1990) .). In total, more than 40 thousand soldiers were involved in the wars in Africa, the death toll from the Soviet side was more than 150 people.

In addition, the regimes friendly to the USSR received a large amount of ammunition, armored vehicles, aviation, a huge amount of money was sent to the countries, as well as party workers and technical specialists. Soviet troops were stationed in the territories of the countries of the socialist camp: in Czechoslovakia, Cuba, Mongolia, their largest representation was on the territory of the German Democratic Republic, the 20th Panzer and 6th Guards Motorized Rifle Divisions were located in the Polish People's Republic.

The size of the Soviet army gradually declined, reaching in the early 1970s. a mark of 2 million people. The war in Afghanistan (1979-1989) became the culminating and, of course, tragic event that marked the end of the era of detente in international relations and claimed thousands of soldiers' lives.

This is the scary word "Afghan"

1979 became the starting point for a new local armed conflict, in which the USSR army took an active part. In Afghanistan, a conflict erupted between the country's leadership and the opposition. The Soviet Union supported the ruling People's Democratic Party, and the US and Pakistanis supported the local mujahideen.

On December 12, the CPSU Central Committee made a decision to send a limited contingent of troops to the Asian country. Especially for these purposes, the 40th Army was created, headed by Lieutenant General Yu. Tukharinov. Initially, more than 81 thousand Soviet servicemen, most of them conscripts, went to Afghanistan. Despite the successful actions of the 40th Army, the Afghan mujahideen, who received financial and military support from the United States and Pakistan, did not stop fighting. Every year the number of Soviet troops stationed in this country increased, reaching by 1985 a maximum level of 108.8 thousand people.

In 1985-1986. The 40th Army conducted a series of successful military operations in the Kunar Gorge, in Khost. In 1987, Kandahar became the main military arena, the battles for which were particularly fierce.

After M.S. Gorbachev's rise to power gradually saw the transition from the doctrine of rivalry to the doctrine of peaceful coexistence between the ATS and NATO countries. In 1988, the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee decided to withdraw Soviet troops from Afghanistan. On February 15, 1989, this decision was finally implemented: the 40th Army returned to the USSR.

Over the ten years of the Afghan war, the Soviet Union suffered massive losses: in total, over 600 thousand Soviet soldiers took part in the monstrous "meat grinder", of which about 15 thousand people did not return home. During the fighting, several hundred aircraft, helicopters, and tanks were destroyed. Afghan has inflicted huge mental wounds on thousands of former soldiers, generations of young children have become victims of the ideological interests of the state.

1989 - 1991 became a turning point in our history: the former once mighty Soviet state collapsed before our eyes, the Baltic republics adopted declarations of sovereignty and began to secede from the Union, local conflicts began to flare up between the peoples of the republics over disputed territories. One of the largest was the clash between Armenians and Azerbaijanis over Nagorno-Karabakh, in the suppression of which parts of the Soviet army took part.
Changes took place in the geopolitical world system: there was a unification of Germany, velvet revolutions swept away the socialist regimes in the Balkans. Military units previously stationed abroad began to be forced to leave the territories of the countries.

The army was in decline: military units were disbanded en masse, the number of generals was reduced, thousands of tanks, aircraft, and armored vehicles were written off.

Liquidation of the Armed Forces of the USSR and the creation of national armies

The agony of the Soviet Union continued: the events of August 1991 demonstrated the impossibility of the existence of a union state. The parade of sovereignties began.

By the summer of 1991, the total number of the Armed Forces was almost 4 million people, but in the fall events took place that put an end to the existence of a single union army: in the fall in a number of republics (Belarus, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, etc.), presidential decrees announced the creation of national military formations ...

On December 25, 1991, President M.S. Gorbachev de jure announced the liquidation of the Soviet Union as a state, thus, the question of the existence of the Soviet Armed Forces was a foregone conclusion. A new page began in the history of the domestic armed forces, the general army of the former USSR split into many independent units.

The USSR ended the war in Berlin in May 1945. During the Berlin offensive, the strategic center of the German resistance Berlin was broken in 17 days. This fact was entered in the Guinness Book of Records. The question before the Soviet government was whether to move on or not. There was no doubt about victory, despite the fact that the technical power of the allied forces was superior to Soviet weapons.

Battle-hardened soldiers and officers under the command of Georgy Zhukov, Konstantin Rokossovsky, Ivan Konev, Alexander Vasilevsky, Rodion Malinovsky and other generals learned how to fight, breaking enemy groups into parts. In 1945, 11 largest offensive operations on the Oder and Vistula, in Western Transcarpathia, in East Prussia, Lower Selsia, in Eastern Pomerania, on Lake Bolaton, in Upper Selsia, Prague and Budapest. They showed how serious the Red Army was, ready to carry out any order of its command.

The main allies - England and France - were worried about the rapid advance of the Soviet troops. They sought to be the first to occupy Berlin together with the Americans. They did not succeed. The Allies had no experience in large-scale operations.

However, in the arena of war, the balance of forces and equipment was not in favor of the Red Army.

How many soldiers did the USSR, USA and England have?

On May 15, 1945, the last report of the Soviet Information Bureau was published. It reported that 6 million 750 thousand soldiers and officers fought on 10 fronts with the support of more than 111 thousand guns and mortars. Plus two million Czechoslovak, Polish, Yugoslavian, Romanian and Bulgarian allied soldiers joined the ranks of the Red Army.

But the numerical superiority of the soldiers was on the side of the Allies. However, only a small percentage of them actually participated in hostilities. The strength of the US Army is 11 million. At the same time, only 41 percent of the military - 3 million 300 thousand were in Europe.

England had 4.5 million soldiers during the Second World War, but only 1.8 million of them took part in the battles.

France could muster about 560,000 soldiers. Hypothetically, the Allied armies could increase the number of soldiers on the fronts at the expense of reserves in order to resist the further seizure of European territory.

America has more planes

The Soviets had about 17,000 aircraft in service. American combat aircraft were 67,700 thousand, of which 42 thousand were stationed in the Air Force, the rest defended the navy.

Allies have more tanks

The USSR had more than 12 thousand tanks and self-propelled guns, America had 12.8 thousand tanks, England had 5.4 thousand tanks. Thus, in the event of a potential threat to capture the rest of Europe, the former allies could oppose more equipment and weapons.

The Red Army is the strongest

Tank and air armies, rifle and cavalry corps, mechanized and tank corps, artillery and mortar brigades - all this was combined into 51 Soviet armies. Plus, the reserve of the High Command included 298 artillery brigades.

In the United States, there were 11 armies and 90 divisions: infantry, tank, cavalry, mountain, airborne.

The Red Army has twice as many guns and mortars

The USSR had more than 111 thousand guns and mortars, the USA - 40 thousand, England - 17,000 units.

The ships

America and England had a total of 1166 ships of the main classes. Almost all of them took part in hostilities on the western fronts, in Pacific and Asia. The Allied ocean fleet was superior to the Soviet Union's coastal fleet. Anglo-American ships controlled the oceanic expanses completely, having naval bases. Moreover, they already had the most modern battleships. In opposition to them, the Soviets are beginning to build submarines. This strategic direction in the development of the Navy remains in the postwar years.

There were no aircraft carriers in the USSR

As of September 1945, the US Navy had 32 units of small and light aircraft carriers, Great Britain - 12, France - 2. There were no ships of this type in the Soviet Union. Heavy large cruisers were also missing. Nine small cruisers against 48 American ones did not play a significant role. In other ships, the Allies were in the lead: America had 405 destroyers, England - 230, and in the USSR - only 48 units. However, 173 Soviet submarines against 263 American submarines still posed a serious threat.

Atomic question

The ambitious plans of the Soviet government were largely constrained by the emergence of jet and atomic weapons. The allies got ready-made German developments. They were able to put into service in their army samples of new weapons.

"Unthinkable" war plan

Seeing the rapid advance of Soviet troops in Europe, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill urgently ordered his analysts to develop a strategic war plan against the Soviet Union. It got the name "Unthinkable". By the end of May 1945, the military reported to Churchill that such a plan was ready. The main goal is that a conscientious government must submit to the will of the United States and England.

It was planned to attract Canadian and Polish divisions to participate in hostilities in addition to the allied forces. The British believed that in total they would be able to gather 47 divisions under their wing. They did not disdain to include in their plan the participation of their former enemies - 12 German divisions. This information was obtained by Soviet intelligence officers. Georgy Zhukov, based on the data received, regrouped his troops so rapidly that the allies could not oppose anything to him. They abandoned further attempts to plan military aggression against the Soviets.

For its part, the Soviet government understood that the army was tired of the worst war in the history of the 20th century and needed a respite. Japanese War also made its own adjustments to further plans to capture Europe.

Hello dear.
Some time ago, you and I had a series of posts about the armies of the countries of the so-called Warsaw Pact. Well, it is quite logical that at least a few words should have been said about the most powerful, strong and efficient army in the entire history of mankind - the Soviet armed forces. For I am deeply convinced that a stronger and more powerful (despite the emerging centrifugal forces both within the state and within the Armed Forces) an army like ours in the mid-80s of the XX century has never been and never will be in terms of the combination of forces, numbers and capabilities.

As a son and grandson of an officer, my destiny was to be connected with the Soviet army, but from childhood I firmly decided that this was not mine. Despite respect for the officers, and communication with soldiers from a very tender age, and love for weapons and everything military in principle. I have never regretted my choice.
But I decided to launch a series of posts :-)) And, I hope, it will be interesting for you.
And I suggest starting at the macro level. And there to sort it out little by little. The most extensive :-))))
So, as I said above, it is my deep conviction that by the mid-80s the Armed Forces reached the peak of their power. It was a monstrous organization


The number for 1985 reached as much as 5 350 800 people. It is incomprehensible ... We had more tanks than all the countries taken together, a huge nuclear arsenal, a strong aviation and an ocean fleet.
Despite its size and complexity of tasks, the armed forces of the USSR were fairly well controlled.
All the armed forces of the Soviet Union were divided into the following types
- Land Forces (Land Forces)
- Air Force (Air Force)
- Air Defense Troops
- Strategic Rocket Forces (Strategic Rocket Forces)
- Navy (Navy)
and Separate types of troops and services of the USSR Armed Forces which included:
- Civil Defense Troops (GO) of the USSR
- Rear services of the USSR Armed Forces
- Border troops of the KGB of the USSR
- Internal Troops of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs

De jure, the highest governing body of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union was the USSR Defense Council chaired by the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee
The members of the Armed Forces under the Soviet Union were: Chief of the General Staff, Commanders-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, commanders and chiefs of combat arms and services, some chiefs of the main and central directorates of the USSR Ministry of Defense, a number of commanders of military districts and fleets.


The direct leadership of the USSR Armed Forces was carried out by military command and control bodies (OVU).
The system of military command and control bodies of the USSR Armed Forces included:
command and control bodies of the SA and the Navy, united by the USSR Ministry of Defense, headed by the USSR Minister of Defense:
General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces (General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces):
control bodies of the Border Troops, subordinate to the USSR State Security Committee, headed by the Chairman of the USSR KGB;
control bodies of the Internal Troops, subordinated to the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs, headed by the USSR Minister of Internal Affairs.


That is, de facto, the Minister of Defense controlled the daily activities of the Armed Forces with the help of the General Staff and related structures, but under the watchful supervision of the party and government :-)

In the USSR, the Universal Military Service was introduced, enshrined in the Constitution. The defense of the socialist Fatherland is the sacred duty of every citizen of the USSR, and military service in the ranks of the USSR Armed Forces is an honorary duty of Soviet citizens (Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution of the USSR).
The uniform draft age for all Soviet citizens is 18 years;
The term of active military service (urgent military service of soldiers and sailors, sergeants and foremen) is 2 - 3 years.
After that they could stay for extra urgent.
By the mid-80s, the following ranks were in the armed forces of the Soviet Union:
Soviet army:
Private and non-commissioned officers
The soldiers
Private
Corporal

Sergeants
Lance Sergeant
Sergeant
Staff Sergeant
Sergeant Major

Warrant officers
Ensign
Senior Warrant Officer

Junior officers

Ensign
Lieutenant
Senior lieutenant
Captain

Senior officers
The military ranks of the officers of the medical service and justice have a corresponding name.
Major
Lieutenant colonel
Colonel

Senior officers
The military ranks of generals of the medical service, aviation and justice have a corresponding name.
Major General
Lieutenant general
Colonel General

Marshal of Artillery, Marshal of Engineering Troops, Marshal of Signal Corps, Marshal of Aviation
army General
Chief Marshal of Artillery, Chief Marshal of Air
Marshal of the Soviet Union
Generalissimo of the Soviet Union

Navy
Ratings
Sailors and soldiers
Private Sailor, private
Senior sailor, corporal

Sergeants and petty officers
Petty Officer 2nd Class, Junior Sergeant
Petty Officer 1 Article, Sergeant
Chief petty officer, senior sergeant
Chief ship sergeant major, foreman

Warrant officers and warrant officers
Warrant officer, warrant officer
Senior Warrant Officer, Senior Warrant Officer

Junior officers
Ensign
Lieutenant
Senior lieutenant
Lieutenant Captain, Captain

Senior officers
Captain 3rd Rank, Major
Captain 2nd Rank, Lieutenant Colonel
Captain 1st Rank Colonel

Senior officers
Rear Admiral, Major General
Vice Admiral, Lieutenant General
Admiral, Colonel General
Admiral of the Fleet
Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union


This is, so to speak, all the macro level ... Next time we will go to the micro, and then we will go in detail on each of the genera and species :-)
To be continued
Have a nice time of the day.

There is no trace of the military potential of the former Soviet republics.

At the end of February, the commander of the Airborne Forces, General Vladimir Shamanov, said that the Russian Airborne Forces could be sent to perform combat missions as a rapid reaction force outside Russia, for example, to countries participating in the Collective Security Treaty. Nasha Versiya was trying to figure out which military forces remained in the former Soviet republics: whom Russia would have to defend, and who would have to look through its sight.

More than 20 years ago, in December 1991, the Armed Forces of the USSR, numbering 4210 thousand people, were fragmented and turned into 15 independent armies. Some managed to succeed more in development, while others did not become full-fledged armies. Meanwhile, all these armed formations are somewhat similar and have common features with the Russian army.

The most powerful ally is Belarus, the weakest is Kyrgyzstan

As Anatoly Tsyganok, head of the scientific and analytical center on national security issues at the Arms of Russia news agency, told Nasha Versiya, the main allies of Russia are the armies of the countries participating in the Collective Security Treaty - Belarus, Kazakhstan and Armenia, in addition, the CSTO includes Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

Belarus is Russia's most efficient ally. And it is no coincidence: at the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union, the concentration of military formations and units on its territory was the highest in Europe. In addition, a huge number of warehouses with military equipment and various military equipment were concentrated here. There were nuclear weapons on the territory of the country, which it was decided to abandon.

For two decades, the size of the Belarusian army has decreased from 280 to 62 thousand people. The number of armored vehicles decreased by 1.5-2 times and is more than 4 thousand tanks and armored personnel carriers, but the number of aircraft, helicopters and modern systems The air defense of zealous Belarusians is growing. More than 300 aircraft are in service.

The army of Kazakhstan was created on the basis of military facilities and formations of the Central Asian and partly Turkestan military districts. The republic received military equipment from the 70s, withdrawn from Eastern Europe. The Strategic Missile Forces and strategic aviation were also deployed on the territory of the republic, in exchange for transferring them to Russia, Kazakhstan received conventional weapons. Today, the Air Force has more than a hundred combat aircraft. The ground component - 1,000 tanks, 2,500 infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers, more than 800 various artillery systems and guns. The Kazakh fleet numbers 9 patrol boats.

The army of Kazakhstan is constantly decreasing, today the number of personnel is about 65 thousand people. There are no problems with the recruitment of troops in Kazakhstan, here they managed to do what they say a lot in Russia: a career in government institutions is closed for those who did not serve.

Units and military equipment of the 7th Army of the former Transcaucasian Military District became the basis for the Armenian national army. This is the only army in the post-Soviet space, the number of which has grown, and almost threefold. Most experts assess it as the most combat-ready in the Transcaucasus. Personnel - 60 thousand people, one hundred tanks, 200 armored personnel carriers, more than 200 artillery systems, about 50 combat aircraft and attack helicopters. Since 2004, Russia has been supplying Armenia with weapons at relatively low prices, as a member of the CSTO. In 2005, Armenia managed to get $ 7 million for the rearmament of the army from the United States.

Tajikistan inherited a minimum of weapons from the Soviet army, so there is a sorely lack of equipment in the troops. Although officially the army of Tajikistan is four brigades, anti-aircraft missile and helicopter regiments, but, in fact, several battalions are combat-ready. There is a big problem with the officer corps, half of the posts are vacant, most of the current officers do not have higher education.

Kyrgyzstan is also a rather weak ally. According to experts, the army in this country, by and large, does not exist; its weapons were sold and plundered. During the Tulip Revolution, the military did not influence the situation. The personnel of the military is about 8 thousand people, but in reality about 500-600 people are able to fight, the so-called consolidated units, which are formed exclusively from officers. And this is despite the active work of American instructors in the country.

The Moldovan army is under the control of the Romanian special services

After the collapse of the USSR, Ukraine inherited a modern powerful army - three very strong military districts, three air armies and even nuclear forces. Initially total strength ukrainian army was about 800 thousand people, while the troops were fully equipped with the most modern military equipment. At one time, Ukraine ranked fourth in the world in terms of military potential, it was rumored that if a war broke out between Russia and Ukraine, it was not yet known who would win. However, over 20 years this powerful force has been squandered. Military equipment has been stolen, rotted, or sold. The total sale of the army made Ukraine one of the world's leading arms exporters. About 6 thousand tanks and 1 thousand combat aircraft remained in service.

The Turkestan Military District became the basis of the armed forces of Uzbekistan. The country's army employs 65,000 people and is rated as the most combat-ready in Central Asia. Soviet armament, early 80-ies, its reserves are large, only tanks in storage more than 2 thousand, however, not all equipment is serviceable. But there are agreements on the supply from Russia of modern artillery systems, transport and combat helicopters, air defense systems and ammunition. There are no problems with recruiting, serving in the army is prestigious, benefits remain, service is a social lift.

Units of the former Turkestan Military District became the basis of the Turkmen army. Today 34 thousand people serve. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, a large amount of military equipment remained on the territory of Turkmenistan, which belonged to the units withdrawn from Afghanistan. In service are more than fifty tanks, 300 different types of aircraft. But, even despite this potential, experts are skeptical about the combat capability of the Turkmen troops. The issue of military personnel is acute in the republic, Russian military specialists left the country back in the 90s, the locals are poorly mastering military affairs. There is a shortage of officers in the troops, even at parades the planes are piloted by invited pilots from Ukraine.

The Azerbaijani army was formed from parts of the former Transcaucasian military district and part of the Caspian flotilla. Currently, its number is estimated at about 70 thousand people. With the help of foreign specialists, NATO standards are being implemented. At the same time, the state military department buys military equipment and weapons from Ukraine. Attempts are being made to establish its own military-industrial complex; small arms, mortars and even armored vehicles are already being produced. The main problem of the Azerbaijani army is universal corruption.

The six thousandth army of Moldova is in a depressing state. Equipment and weapons are almost completely out of order. The mass exodus of officers due to low salaries further aggravates the disaster. NATO has repeatedly initiated various options for "military reforms", but the attempts only further reduced the defense capability. At the same time, the army is practically under the control of the Romanian special services.

Latvian Air Force consists of "maize"

The armies of all the former Baltic republics are NATO members, in fact, they are potential adversaries for Russia, but there is no need to fear them - the number of these armies is quite small and, like everyone else, there are problems with funding.

Lithuania is the most militarized Baltic republic; 10,000 servicemen are in charge of protecting the republic's interests, of which almost 11% are women. The armament of the Lithuanian army is armed and equipment of American and Western European production, but there are still Soviet-made samples. There is even a fleet - two small anti-submarine ships and four patrol boats. The issue of purchasing combat helicopters is being resolved.

The Estonian Defense Army is more than 5 thousand people, which are divided into eight battalions and an artillery division. The fleet is a faulty corvette, two boats and four boat minesweepers. They are armed with a hundred cannons, but the problem with armored vehicles is that they periodically rent a tank from Latvian neighbors during exercises.

In Latvia, the army, equal in number to the Estonian army, consists of an infantry battalion, an artillery battalion and three training centers. Armed with three T-55 training tanks, the main striking force of the Air Force is the An-2 maize, the Navy consists of patrol boats, minesweepers, mine hunter boats and self-propelled barges, in the near future local shipbuilders promise to build their own warships

The Georgian army is the only one today with whom Russia had to fight; its strength was clearly shown by the results of the eight-day war in 2008. The republic's armed forces were created on the basis of the Soviet units of the Transcaucasian Military District. Now the number of the armed forces of Georgia is 37 thousand people. Until 2003, the Georgian army was armed with outdated Soviet equipment, but after the Rose Revolution, its modernization began. NATO countries supplied weapons to this republic free of charge, thus the country's military budget in 2007 increased 50 times and reached a maximum of 780 million dollars. Foreign instructors are trying to train Georgians. After the war with Russia, almost a third of this formidable army was destroyed and incapacitated. Now Georgia is actively restoring its military potential.