Permanent readiness units in the Russian Armed Forces

The Russian Armed Forces are currently undergoing a process of professionalisation, the aim of which is to build a 70 per cent professional force, retaining only 30 per cent conscript soldiers. The process of professionalising the Land and Airborne Forces is mapped out in this study. An attempt has been made to obtain an overall picture of units and formations that have been professionalised and are on so-called permanent readiness. The permanent readiness units will be the sharpest end of the future Russian Armed Forces. Hence a survey of these units can provide important insights to analyses of the current and future state of the Russian Armed Forces. There is considerable uncertainty as to the validity of available data based on open sources. There is reason to believe that Russian authorities themselves do not possess exact data on the current state of professionalisation. In its conclusion, the report gives two estimates, one low – 75,000 – and one high – 150,000 – for the number of professional soldiers in the Land and Airborne Forces today. These soldiers serve in the permanent readiness units that are supposed to be best trained and equipped for participation in future operations.