Putin Orders Russian Army to Become Second Largest After China’s at 1.5
Million Strong
Reuters (Subscription Required)
President Vladimir Putin on Sept. 16 ordered the regular size of the Russian army to be
increased by 180,000 troops to 1.5 million active servicemen in a move that would make
it the second largest in the world after China’s. In a decree published on the Kremlin’s
website, Putin ordered the overall size of the armed forces to be increased to 2.38
million people, of which he said 1.5 million should be active servicemen.