Abstract
Under the leadership of Presidents Yeltsin and Putin the authorities in the Kremlin have well understood that the armed forces need to be tightly controlled, but they have shown a consistent preference for control from the top with minimal societal intervention or influence. The army is subordinate to a civilian head of state, yet it is also largely free from civilian interference in the way it is managed. There are few civilian decision-makers of any consequence in the Ministry of Defense. At the same time, the military has deeply penetrated the various parliamentary and governmental bodies that are meant to provide civilian oversight of defense policy and expenditure. This calls into question the prospects of democratic consolidation in Russia.
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