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Soviet Union [USSR] Chapter 18. Armed Forces and Defense Organization
IN 1988 THE ARMED FORCES of the Soviet Union celebrated their
seventieth anniversary. As old as the Soviet state, they have been
highly integrated into its political, economic, and social systems.
The missions of the Soviet armed forces were to defend the Soviet
Union and its
socialist (see Glossary) allies, to ensure favorable
conditions for the development of the world socialist system, and
to assist the national liberation movements around the world. The
armed forces have defended communist parties that dominate Sovietallied socialist countries as well as the Soviet Union. They also
have projected military power abroad to help pro-Soviet forces gain
or maintain political power. Thus, the armed forces have provided
the military might that is the basis of the Soviet Union's claim to
be a superpower with global interests. To ensure that the military
pursues these largely political objectives, the Communist Party of
the Soviet Union (CPSU) controls the armed forces through a
combination of political indoctrination, co-optation, and party
supervision at every level.
The Soviet armed forces, the world's largest military
establishment, in 1989 had nearly 6 million troops in uniform. The
armed forces had five armed services rather than the standard army,
navy, and air force organizations found in most of the world's
armed forces. In their official order of importance, the Soviet
armed services were the Strategic Rocket Forces, Ground Forces, Air
Forces, Air Defense Forces, and Naval Forces. The Soviet armed
forces also included two paramilitary forces, the Internal Troops
and the Border Troops.
The Soviet Union has always been a militarized state. Onefourth of the entire Soviet population in 1989 was engaged in
military activities, whether active duty, military production, or
civilian military training. Yet the sheer size of the armed forces
has not translated directly into combat power. Manpower, training,
logistics, equipment, and economic problems combined to limit the
operational effectiveness of Soviet forces. Many servicemen were
assigned nonmilitary duties that in many other countries were
performed by civilians.
Data as of May 1989
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