15th anniversary of Russian Federation Armed Forces.

May 7, 2007

Today the Russian Military celebrated its 15th anniversary. The current Russian Armed Forces were formed by decree on May 7, 1992 by then President of Russia, Boris Yeltsin. Prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union, the armed forces were under the purview of the Soviet system, and at the time served the entire U.S.S.R. Upon the collapse of the U.S.S.R., property and personnel where divided up amongst member states and Russia created the Armed Forces of Russia.

The Armed Forces of Russia have currently over one million serving members in its ranks across its three services, the Air Force, the Land Force and Navy, in addition to its three independent troops, the Rocket Forces, Spaces Forces and Airborne Troops. Many of the troops, nearly 69,000 of them, have no permanent home. This highlights a general decay of Russian forces since the fall of the Soviet Union. However, the state of the Russian forces has been improving recently.

Earlier this year, the length of service in the Russian Forces was cut from 24 months to 18 months on a decree of President Vladimir Putin. It is to be cut again to a term of one year starting January 1, 2008.