L'institution militaire, le pouvoir et la société civile en Russie

Abstract

The Military Institution, Power and Civil Society in Russia, by Iouri E. Fedorov The Russian, and later Soviet army, has always played a central role in the country's history. Even today, a general — Alexander Lebed — has acquired considerable political clout. Once again, this begs the troubling question of the potential political role of the army in Russia. Lt is these complicated relations between the army, the power and the civil society that the Russian professor, Iouri Fedorov, specialised in the study of the military institution, here analyses. Diminished by the disappearance of the Empire, made poorer by budgetary restrictions, the disorganized Russian army has, since 1992, undergone a real depoliticization and against its will got involved in the domestic Chechen conflict. However, in its majority, the army still supports an authority regime in Russia. Its size means that there cannot be an electoral victory without its support and that of its families. The political establishment must take into account its views, its quest for an improved standard of living and even the attitude of the military elite with respect to foreign policy towards the countries of the CIS and the West.