Rogozin Criticized Soviet Armed Forces

10.02.2012 Soviet leaders estimated national security threats incorrectly, so Army and Navy were not complying with up-to-date demands, said Russian vice premier Dmitry Rogozin.

"Eventually, in conventional and nuclear arms race with the US and NATO, Soviet leaders estimated outer and inner threats to national security improperly", said Rogozin meeting with scientists, reports RIA Novosti.

As for him, Soviet government gave insufficient attention to non-force defense methods including diplomatic, informational and psychological tools.

"As a consequence, structure and strength of Soviet Armed Forces were incompletely meeting requirements of inter-branch cooperation and general mobility", said the vice premier.

As for Rogozin, that was the reason for burdensome and economically ruinous nature of Soviet military organization.

Being in standoff with the West, the USSR had formed absolutely independent technological basis, but when the 'iron curtain' opened it was found that the formerly isolated country seriously yielded to opponents in some particular areas, Rogozin said.

That is why Prime Minister Vladimir Putin marked aircraft industry, composite materials, telecommunication technologies, and pharmaceutics as high-priority areas for economic development, added Rogozin.

He said that the list was not complete.

Rogozin supposes that without immediate steps in fundamental military science, Russia could be in peril of having considerable technological gap in such areas as electronic component base, precision weapons guiding devices, laser systems, hypersonic technologies, and development of ultrawideband electromagnetic radiation sources.

In Dec 2011 Dmitry Rogozin was appointed vice premier responsible for defense industry. Prior to that, Rogozin used to be Russian ambassador to NATO.