ARMY THE WAY IT IS UNAFFORDABLE

Russia’s Security Council Secretary Sergei Ivanov summarized the results of yesterday’s meeting of the council. “A unanimous decision was taken that we should implement the military reform in a broad sense,” he told journalists. This is exactly how he characterized the decisions to strengthen the country’s armed forces aiming to create a high-quality and mobile army. “There are now about 3 million shoulder-strapped people in Russia, and it presents an unaffordable burden for our economy,” Mr. Ivanov stressed. He reminded that the overall number of the military to be cut made up some 600,000 people.