Military Forces in Transition

Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Defense, 1991. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Wraps. good. Quarto, 60 pages. Wraps. Illustrations. Folding map laid in. Tables Charts. Covers slightly worn and soiled. Military Forces in Transition concentrates on the bare-bones facts of the Soviet Union's armed forces. Topics covered include the Soviet military in transition, economic factors affecting the Soviet military, Soviet strategic forces, and Soviet general purpose forces. A published report on the military situation and the military forces of the Soviet Union and former soviet republics during the considerable political upheaval of 1991. With a Preface by Dick Cheney, US Secretary of Defense. A this report goes to press, the long-term implications of the failed coup for the military forces of the former Soviet Union are not yet clear. It seems apparent, however, that the dramatic and sudden shift of political power to the republics and the extensive personnel changes in the military High Command will have a significant impact on the further development of Soviet military policy. As a result, some of the assessment sin this publication are subject to gradual or even sudden change. Nevertheless, we [DoD] believe it worthwhile at this crucial stage to have an accounting of Soviet military forces in the aftermath of the coup, and this report provides a basis for evaluation of further changes that could occur in the wake of the coup and in the restructuring of the Soviet state. Additionally, the very name of the country is in question. In this report, the names "USSR' and "Soviet Union" may need to be read as the "Former USSR' or "Former Soviet Union"