the development of russian military policy and finland

46 · The Development of Russian Military Policy and Finland
5.2 Basic Readiness and Its Enhancement
The number of Russian forces in the former Leningrad Military District has
changed significantly after the break-up of the Soviet Union. The units withdrawn
from East Germany were first concentrated there. Then followed a
huge reduction of troops. Now the trend has again been reversed.
The headquarters of the 6 th Russian Army was stationed in Petrozavodsk. It is
now located near Kasimovo, the “military village” built by the Finns for Russian
helicopter units north of St. Petersburg. The headquarters appears to be
in charge of the ground forces east and south-east of Finland.
A new motorized infantry brigade was re-established in 2010 in Vladimirsky
Lager south of St. Petersburg. It may still be deficient but is likely to belong to
the planned units of high readiness. In Kamenka, on the Karelian Isthmus
there is an elite motorized infantry brigade. From the weapons depot at Sertolovo,
north of St. Petersburg, it is possible to establish a reserve brigade. A
helicopter unit in support of these brigades is also stationed on the Isthmus.
Furthermore there is an abundance of artillery units in the area, supporting
these brigades, including a heavy rocket launcher brigade (Tver) with a range
of 80 kilometres. In addition an operational brigade belonging to the Ministry
of the Interior is located in Lebyazhie (Лебяжье, Lepäsi).
A particularly significant addition of military potential is the deployment of
the new ballistic missile system Iskander-M, with a missile brigade in Luga,
south of St. Petersburg. The maximum range of the missile is officially 450
kilometres but may reach 700 kilometres, depending of the weight of the warhead.
181
Professor Stephen J. Blank (U.S. Army War College Strategic Studies Institute)
underlines that it is no longer political rhetoric, but actual policy when Iskander-missiles
are deployed in the neighbourhood of Finland:
181 Forss, 2012. See also STRATFOR, 30 November 2010, “Russian Missiles on NATO’s
Border.” The first Iskander missiles (one battalion) arrived at the 26 th Artillery and Missile
Brigade in Luga in the spring of 2010 and were declared operational in mid-December
2010. See also RIA Novosti, 14 December 2010, “Western Military District Gets First Iskander
Tactical Missile System” [http://en.rian.ru/mlitary_news/20101214/161766995.
html]. The brigade was fully equipped with Iskander missiles in mid-2011 and is now combat
ready; Russia Today, 20 October 20011, “In a Nod to European Missile Defence, Russia
Rolls Out the Iskander Missile [http://rt.com/politics/russia-missile-defence-nato-europe-
293/]. See also Garavskij, 2011; Isby, 2011. A thorough technical analysis of the missile
shows that the maximum range with a 480 kilo warhead is about 700 kilometres and that an
upgraded missile using more efficient fuel may reach 1000 kilometres in the future. It is not
known that the missile would have been tested at ranges exceeding 500 kilometres, which
would mean definite violation of the INF Treaty.