Kremlin

President of Russia

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MILITARY REFORM |

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May 26 2004

For reliable protection of the state from any forms of military and political pressure and potential external aggression, effective, technically well-equipped and modern Armed Forces are needed, President Vladimir Putin announced in the Address to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation.

Modernisation of the army includes equipping strategic nuclear forces with the most modern systems of strategic weaponry, and also equipping other types of Armed Forces with the appropriate tactical and operational weaponry. Adequate quality of weaponry is the characteristic that directly determines the degree of battle readiness of the modern army, the President said.

Furthermore, reform of social guarantees for soldiers will be carried out. A mortgage system will be created for them. Three years after joining this system, soldiers will be able to receive housing on mortgage conditions.

Training of specialists for unique professions that are required by the modern army may be held at civil institutes of higher education.

Volumes of funds spent, the interests of the country’s defence capability, and also important social parameters of reform require compulsory civil control over the effectiveness of changes in the army, Vladimir Putin stressed. For successful modernization of the entire military organization of the state, it is necessary to know precisely how money is spent, including providing soldiers with housing, military medicine and education.

| Address to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation

February 18 2004

The Russian Strategic Missile Forces will receive new arms that are without equivalent in the world, President Vladimir Putin said at a press conference at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome.

These new missiles can hit targets at intercontinental distance with high precision and at hyper-sound speed and can change their altitude and course along the way.

The new weapon’s test results make it possible to say that, together with the country’s existing arms, it will ensure that Russia can guarantee its strategic security in the long-term perspective, the President said.

| Press statement and answers to questions

| Previous events

<i>«The Russian Armed Forces still face a good number of difficulties and problems, but all of them can be resolved. Our Armed Forces must meet modern demands, be mobile, genuinely professional and be equipped with new generation arms and equipment. Reliable security is a key condition for developing our country, and we must be ready to counteract any threat, from terrorism to local conflicts and major aggression».
</i><br><br>From a speech at an evening celebrating Defenders of the Fatherland Day, <br>February 22, 2004

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