This is not a fad reflecting recent newspaper headlines, either. In a previous article - Feature: The Military in Russian Politics - Then and Now - I pointed out the possibility that Russian officers, feeling themselves the only ones who care about their men, may instigate an uprising and/or push the country into war.
So, I thought I'd take a little time out to investigate officers' movements in Russia. What I see isn't pretty.
The Movement in Support of the Army, Defense Industry and Military Science (DPA) seems to be the main organ for servicemembers and ex-servicemembers. Anyone who wishes, however, may join - either individually or collectively.
For one thing, they are starting to supplant the state. For example, the Stavropol division registered a company, NSK Gospom, to provide bread and sausage for the poor. They also hear complaints from citizens, including heading up a call for a bypass canal in response to repeated complaints about flooding. They have organized a military-patriotic club.
They are activists. The division has "operational groups" distributed throughou the villages and towns, who are prepared to ensure law and order in their respective areas. They also maintain order at public rallies.
Indeed, they are starting to meld the DPA into the rest of the administration: Division Chair Gennady Merkulov also manages a road construction administration in whose offices the DPA division headquarters is based.
(It should be noted that Stavropol, being in the Caucasus, contains many people who are afraid of the Chechens, and whose loyalty to the military may also have that as a basis.)
There are other organizations, which cooperate with the DPA. There is the Marshal G.K. Zhukov Officers' Union (named after one of the greatest military leaders in Soviet and Russian history). The Union has an agenda which includes restoring the USSR, and in particular Soviet power, socialism and a Council of People's and Officers' Deputies, as well as opposing military reform, the presidency and privatization.
Nasty stuff. There seem to be a lot of officers and others who are putting themselves in position to become the government, and who have some pretty ugly ambitions.
And for one of the oldest reasons in the world: they feel the country - or at least the present government - has no more use for them now, does not appreciate them for what they have done, and feels much the same about the citizenry at large. Certainly, the complaints they receive (and may be the only ones to listen to) from citizens, and help pressure the state to act upon, have reinforced the idea.
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