Russian Federation | Nation of Braveness

Russia assumed control of Soviet assets abroad and most of the Soviet Union's production facilities and defense industries.^[112] The Russian military is divided into the Ground Forces, Navy, and Air Force. There are also three independent arms of service: Strategic Rocket Forces, Military Space Forces, and the Airborne Troops. In 2006, the military had 1.037 million personnel on active duty.

Russian paratroopers at an exercise in Kazakhstan

Russia has the largest stockpile of nuclear weapons in the world. It has the second largest fleet of ballistic missile submarines and is the only country apart from the U.S. with a modern strategic bomber force. Russia's tankforce is the largest in the world, it's surface navy and air force are among the strongest. The country has a large and fully indigenous arms industry, producing most of its own military equipment with only few types of weapons imported. Russia is the world's top supplier of arms, a spot it has held since 2001, accounting for around 30% of worldwide weapons sales and exporting weapons to about 80 countries.

It is mandatory for all male citizens aged 18–27 to be drafted for a year of service in Armed Forces; the government plans to increase the proportion of contract servicemen to 70% by 2010. Defense expenditure has quadrupled over the past six years and official government military spending for 2008 were $40 billion but according to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute estimates $58 billion, making it the fifth largest in the world, though various sources, including US intelligence,and the International Institute for Strategic Studies, have estimated Russia’s military expenditures to be considerably higher. Currently, the military is undergoing a major equipment upgrade worth about $200 billion between 2006 and 2015. Defense Minister Anatoliy Serdyukov supervises the major reforms aimed to transform a mass mobilization army into a smaller force of contract soldiers.