The aim of the project is to assess the efficiency of massive new funding and to evaluate the mid-term prospects of building a more reliable nuclear deterrent potential and deploying a grouping on conventional forces capable of projecting power towards the Caucasus and Central Asia. The analysis is grounded in empirical research on the Russian military going back to 1994, and will be organized around four major issues:
- The scale of current and prospective funding for the Armed Forces as compared to the scale of accumulated problems in logistics, procurement, and manpower;
- the shift in security perspectives in Moscow towards restoring the ‘great power’ status and the revision of key strategic guidelines for modernizing the military;
- the political emphasis on strengthening the nuclear deterrent and the expected impact of the new programs on the status of strategic forces;
- the perceived need in, and the available capabilities for projecting military power for securing Russia’s interests in the Caucasus and Central Asia.
