(Reform of the Russian Army was aimed at turning it into modern and professional force)
The Russian military reform of 1992 was a major structural reorganization of the newly established Russian Armed Forces. The main points of the reform were:
- reducing the armed forces to a strength of one million;
- reducing the number of officers;
- centralising officer training from military schools into systemic military training centres;
- creating a professional NCO corps;
- reducing the size of the central command;
- introducing more civilian logistics and auxiliary staff;
- elimination of cadre-strength formations;
- reorganizing the reserves; reorganizing the army into a brigade system;
- reorganising air forces into an air base system instead of regiments;
- consolidation of military districts and the navy's fleets into four Joint Strategic Commands (OSK);
- the number of military units and formations in the Ground Forces were to be reduced;
- the number of units in the Russian Air Force(VVS) and number of air bases were to be reduced;
- the number of the Russian navy (VMF) units were to be cut by half;
- the navy's fighting capability would be bolstered by bringing various units to 100% of their full wartime strength;
- the Navy's schools and research institutes were merged into a territorially distributed Naval Academy Research and Training Center which consists of the Naval Academy the Higher Special Officer Courses, five naval research institutes, three MOD research institutes, the Nakhimov Naval School in St. Petersburg, and the Naval Cadet Corps;
- the Naval Aviation and the support units were reorganized into 13 air bases, which were merged into territorially integrated structures in a second stage. As is the case for the reformed Air Force, each new air base consisted of an HQ, support units, and one or more aviation groups (the former air bases);
- closing down of military towns;
- bringing finances under control and reducing the power of the General Staff.
In response to Moldovan attacks against Transnistria, the Russian government supported the pro-Russian forces with weaponry, supplies and other material. Furthermore, Russian military advisors and volunteers from Russia and Ukraine were sent. The issue of Transnistrian and Gaguazian independence was raised at the United Nations forum. The independence of Transnistria and Gaguazia was a result of diplomatic negotiations between the United States, Russia and Romania. In exchange for Russian diplomatic recognition of Croatia and Slovenia and acceptance of political union between Romania and Moldova, Transnistria and Gaguazia would become independent states, and future members of the CSTO and other Russian-led organizations. The worsening economic situation in Russia was a major concern for President Fyodorov. Beginning with the establishment of
the Union of Labor Unions of Russia, which would be responsible for protecting the workers' rights in Russia. All middle-sized and large companies operating in Russia were legally bound to work with the Union. Unions would also have a scheduled hearing in Parliament where they could point out all the problems workers face and work closely with state institutions and the government. It's important to note that the authority of the Unions would extend only to conditions in the workplace, free time (benefits and vacations), and paychecks, but the company reserved the right to fire employees that failed to meet the company's expectations. Companies would also have the right to bring the Union to court if demands are too unreasonable, and in that case, the Union would lose the right to call a strike. The idea was for all workers to participate in the Union and for the Union to defend the rights of workers, be included in decision-making at the companies, and work closely with the government and state institutions in order to avoid disagreements and disruptions in the economy.
(Thanks to the government's action, the economic dowturn in Russia was not as powerful as expected, though Russia's GDP fell in 1992 and 1993)
Another pressing issue for the Russian government was
hyperinflation, and in order to deal with this problem, the government had taken the following steps: imposing capital controls on foreign currency exchange, cut on the money printing, reduction of the budget deficit, reevaluation of the borrowing to state and private enterprises and tightening the standards for it, imposing price control to stop fluctuating prices and the freeze of all Ruble -denominated aggregates, such as wages, prices, and nominal exchange rate, with pre-established adjustments and a gradual increase of wages as situation gets better (to reduce overcirculation of the money in the economy), measures against unemployment, as well as introduction of coupons for groceries and other daily necessities. Furthermore, a denomination of Ruble would be introduced. The Russian government followed the model of gradual privatization of assents, excluding the oil and energy companies. In order to make the Russian entry into the world market as smooth as possible, the government adopted a protectionist policy to protect struggling domestic businesses. Cheaper energy was introduced for Russian companies as subsidies and window guidance were introduced as well.
The war in Bosnia escalated in April. On 3 April 1992, the Battle of Kupres began between the JNA (Yugoslav People's Army) and a combined HV-HVO (Croatian Defence Council) force that ended in a JNA victory. On 6 April, Serb forces began shelling Sarajevo, and in the next two days crossed the Drina from Serbia proper and besieged Muslim-majority Zvornik, Višegrad and Foča.According to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, in 1992, after the capture of Zvornik, Bosnian Serb troops killed several hundred Muslims and forced tens of thousands to flee the area. All of Bosnia was engulfed in war by mid-April. On 23 April, the JNA evacuated its personnel by helicopter from the barracks in Čapljina, which had been blockaded since 4 March. There were some efforts to halt violence. On 27 April, the Bosnian government ordered the JNA to be put under civilian control or expelled, which was followed by a series of conflicts in early May between the two. Prijedor was taken over by Serbs on 30 April. On 2 May, the Green Berets and local gang members fought back a disorganised Serb attack aimed at cutting Sarajevo in two. On 3 May, Izetbegović was kidnapped at the Sarajevo airport by JNA officers, and used to gain safe passage of JNA troops from downtown Sarajevo. However, Bosnian forces attacked the departing JNA convoy, which embittered all sides. A cease-fire and agreement on evacuation of the JNA was signed on 18 May, and on 20 May the Bosnian presidency declared the JNA an occupation force.
The Army of Republika Srpska was newly established and put under the command of General Ratko Mladić, in a new phase of the war. Shellings on Sarajevo on 24, 26, 28 and 29 May were attributed to Mladić by UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali. Civilian casualties of a 27 May shelling of the city led to Western intervention, in the form of sanctions imposed on 30 May through United Nations Security Council Resolution 757. That same day Bosnian forces attacked the JNA barracks in the city, which was followed by heavy shelling. On 5 and 6 June the last JNA personnel left the city during heavy street fighting and shelling. The 20 June cease-fire, executed in order for UN takeover of the Sarajevo airport for humanitarian flights, was broken as both sides battled for control of the territory between the city and airport. The airport crisis led to Boutros-Ghali's ultimatum on 26 June, that the Serbs stop attacks on the city, allow the UN to take control of the airport, and place their heavy weapons under UN supervision. Meanwhile, media reported that Bush considered the use of force in Bosnia. World public opinion was "decisively and permanently against the Serbs" following media reports on the sniping and shelling of Sarajevo.
Outside of Sarajevo, the combatants' successes varied greatly in 1992. Serbs had seized Muslim-majority cities along the Drina and Sava rivers and expelled their Muslim population within months. A joint Bosnian–HVO offensive in May, having taken advantage of the confusion following JNA withdrawal, reversed Serb advances into Posavina and central Bosnia. The offensive continued southwards, besieging Doboj, thereby cutting off Serb forces in Bosanska Krajina from Semberija and Serbia. In mid-May, Srebrenica was retaken by Bosnian forces under Naser Orić. Serb forces suffered a costly defeat in eastern Bosnia in May, when according to Serbian accounts Avdo Palić's force was ambushed near Srebrenica, killing 400. From May to August, Goražde was besieged by the VRS (Army of Republika Srpska), until the siege was broken by the ARBiH (Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina) on 1 September. In April 1992, Croatian Defence Council (HVO) entered the town of Orašje and, according to Croatian sources, began a mass campaign of harassment against local Serb civilians, including torture, rape and murder.
(Destruction in Sarajevo)
On 15 May 1992, a JNA column was ambushed in Tuzla. 92nd Motorised JNA Brigade (stationed in "Husinska buna" barracks in Tuzla) received orders to leave the city of Tuzla and Bosnia-Herzegovina, and to enter Serbia. An agreement was made with the Bosnian government that JNA units would be allowed until 19 May to leave Bosnia peacefully. Despite the agreement, the convoy was attacked in Tuzla's Brčanska Malta district with rifles and rocket launchers; mines were also placed along its route. 52 JNA soldiers were killed and over 40 were wounded, most of them ethnic Serbs. The Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina was admitted as a member state of the United Nations on 22 May 1992.
From May to December 1992, the Bosnian Ministry of the Interior (BiH MUP), Croatian Defence Council (HVO) and later the Bosnian Territorial Defence Forces (TO RBiH) operated the Čelebići prison camp. It was used to detain 700 Bosnian Serb prisoners of war arrested during military operations that were intended to de-block routes to Sarajevo and Mostar in May 1992 which had earlier been blocked by Serb forces. Of these 700 prisoners, 13 died while in captivity. Detainees at the camp were subjected to torture, sexual assaults, beatings and otherwise cruel and inhuman treatment. Certain prisoners were shot and killed or beaten to death. On 6 May 1992, Mate Boban met with Radovan Karadžić in Graz, Austria, where they reached an agreement for a ceasefire and discussed the details of the demarcation between a Croat and Serb territorial unit in Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, the ceasefire was broken on the following day when the JNA and Bosnian Serb forces mounted an attack on Croat-held positions in Mostar. In June 1992, Bosnian Serb forces attacked and pounded the small Bosnian village of Žepa, and would lead to the three-year long siege of Žepa.
By June 1992, the number of refugees and internally displaced persons had reached 2.6 million. By September 1992, Croatia had accepted 335,985 refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina, mostly Bosniak civilians (excluding men of drafting age). The large number of refugees significantly strained the Croatian economy and infrastructure. Then-U.S. Ambassador to Croatia, Peter Galbraith, tried to put the number of Muslim refugees in Croatia into a proper perspective in an interview on 8 November 1993. He said the situation would be the equivalent of the United States taking in 30,000,000 refugees.The number of Bosnian refugees in Croatia was at the time surpassed only by the number of the internally displaced persons within Bosnia and Herzegovina itself, at 588,000.Serbia took in 252,130 refugees from Bosnia, while other former Yugoslav republics received a total of 148,657 people.
In June 1992, the Bosnian Serbs started Operation Corridor in northern Bosnia against HV–HVO forces, to secure an open road between Belgrade, Banja Luka, and Knin. The reported deaths of twelve newborn babies in Banja Luka hospital due to a shortage of bottled oxygen for incubators was cited as an immediate cause for the action, but the veracity of these deaths has since been questioned. Borisav Jović, a contemporary high-ranking Serbian official and member of the Yugoslav Presidency, has claimed that the report was just wartime propaganda, stating that Banja Luka had two bottled oxygen production plants in its immediate vicinity and was virtually self-reliant in that respect. Operation Corridor began on 14 June 1992, when the 16th Krajina Motorized Brigade of the VRS, aided by a VRS tank company from Doboj, began the offensive near Derventa. The VRS captured Modriča on 28 June, Derventa on 4–5 July, and Odžak on 12 July. The HV–HVO forces were reduced to isolated positions around Bosanski Brod and Orašje, which held out during August and September. The VRS managed to break through their lines in early October and capture Bosanski Brod. Most of the remaining Croat forces withdrew north to Croatia. The HV–HVO continued to hold the Orašje enclave and were able to repel an VRS attack in November.
On 21 June 1992, Bosniak forces entered the Bosnian Serb village of Ratkovići near Srebrenica and murdered 24 Serb civilians. In June 1992, the UNPROFOR, originally deployed in Croatia, had its mandate extended into Bosnia and Herzegovina, initially to protect the Sarajevo International Airport. In September, the role of UNPROFOR was expanded to protect humanitarian aid and assist relief delivery in the whole Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as to help protect civilian refugees when required by the Red Cross. On 4 August 1992, the IV Knight Motorised Brigade of the ARBiH attempted to break through the circle surrounding Sarajevo, and a fierce battle ensued between the ARBiH and the VRS in and around the damaged FAMOS factory in the suburb of Hrasnica. The VRS repelled the attack, but failed to take Hrasnica in a decisive counterattack. On 12 August 1992, the name of the Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina was changed to Republika Srpska (RS). By November 1992, 1,000 square kilometres (400 sq mi) of eastern Bosnia was under Muslim control.
(Abkhaz fighters in firefight against Georgian army)
On 25 July 1992, Abkhazia declared independence from Georgia. The eorgian government, already involved in conflict with South Ossetia, dispatched 3,000 soldiers to the region, ostensibly to restore order. The Abkhaz were relatively unarmed at the time and the Georgian troops were able to march into Sukhumi with relatively little resistance and subsequently engaged in ethnically based pillage, looting, assault, and murder. The Abkhaz units were forced to retreat to Gudauta and Tkvarcheli. The Abkhaz military defeat was met with a hostile response by the self-styled Confederation of Mountain Peoples of the Caucasus, an umbrella group uniting a number of movements in the North Caucasus, including elements of Circassians, Abazins, Chechens, Cossacks, Ossetians and hundreds of volunteer paramilitaries and mercenaries from Russia, and they sided with the Abkhaz separatists to fight against the Georgian government.
On 1 August 1992, the
Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (
BSEC) was established, which focused on multilateral political and economic initiatives aimed at fostering cooperation, peace, stability and prosperity in the Black Sea region. BSEC Headquarters – the Permanent International Secretariat of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC PERMIS) – was established in March 1993, in Istanbul. The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) was also established as an international financial institution. It supported economic development and regional cooperation by providing trade and project financing, guarantees, and equity for development projects supporting both public and private enterprises in its member countries. Objectives of the bank included promoting regional trade links, cross country projects, foreign direct investment, supporting activities that contribute to sustainable development, with an emphasis on the generation of employment in the member countries, ensuring that each operation is economically and financially sound and contributes to the development of a market orientation. The bank's headquarters are located in Thessaloniki, Greece. Founding members of the BSEC: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Romania, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine.
In the meantime, the Ukrainian President
Leonid Kravchuk, met with the U.S. President George H.W. Bush. Ukraine obtained a credit line to buy U.S. Commodities. Furthermore, Kravchuk welcomed the idea of NATO enlargement. As president, Kravchuk never opposed the expansion of the Alliance or the possibility of a future Ukrainian membership to NATO. This was reflected in his disdain for military cooperation with Eurasian structures, such as the Tashkent CIS Collective Security Treaty, in favour of European security structures. He said that "
the best guarantee to Ukraine's security would be membership to NATO." He repeated his support for an immediate Ukrainian membership to NATO in 1993. Kravchuk achieved and strengthened the formal sovereignty of Ukraine. He took a pro-European stance, developing relations with the West and signing a cooperation accord with the European Union. The Kravchuk administration walked a tightrope between escalation of Ukrainian–Russian tensions and a policy of cooperation with Moscow.
Following the defeat in the Presidential elections in 1991,
Boris Yeltsin began working on forming a political coalition, that would challenge President's Fyodorov's United Russia coalition in the upcoming legislative elections in 1993. Yeltsin's liberal-conservative
Democratic Alliance for Russia included following political parties and movements: Democratic Choice of Russia, Women of Russia, Democratic Party of Russia, The Party of Russian Unity and Accord.
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