When Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov tried to reform Russia’s armed forces – by expanding the military’s training in modern defense techniques, cutting costs, and boosting efficiency – he was replaced by Sergei Shoigu, Moscow’s former governor and a die-hard Putin loyalist, who restored the outdated system. Even the army’s new uniforms, which border on the comic with their eighteenth-century epaulets and World War II jackets, invoke the past, rather than provide the comfort and efficiency needed in modern warfare.
当国防部长谢尔久科夫试图改革俄罗斯武装部队时——通过扩大军队的现代防御技术培训、削减成本和提高效率——他被撤了职。接替他的是前莫斯科市长、普京死忠谢尔盖·萧依古（Sergei Shoigu），恢复了过时的体系。就连新军装——二战时期的衣服配以十八世纪的肩章——也在追求复古，而没有提供现代战争所要求的舒适和实用。