| Summary/Abstract |
This article is the first in a series of three that examines the Russian Armed Forces’ efforts to adjust their strategic command and control architecture in the post-Soviet period, taking into account wide-ranging shifts in force structure, missions, geography, resources, and leadership. From 1996 to 2000, changes reflected Russian military reform more broadly: much conceptualization, but little implementation. In the first four years of Putin’s presidency, the military leadership advocated strategic command and control reforms, but remained focused on more fundamental issues of military readiness, service conditions, and downsizing. More wide-ranging changes began in earnest in the mid-2000s, only to be overtaken by an even more fundamental defense reform process initiated in 2007. The process of changing the strategic C2 system captured many political, cultural, and strategic facets of post-Soviet Russian military development.
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