How to protect the army from his attacks? With this and other questions, we turned to the Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Budget, Tax Policy, Financial, Currency and Customs Regulation, Banking Activities K. TITOV and the head of the Main Department of Military Budget and Financing of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, Colonel-General G. OLEINIK. A look from two commanding heights-the federal legislature and the Ministry of Defense-gives our readers a more comprehensive and in-depth vision of the most important problems that affect the life of the Armed Forces and the national security of the country in the defense sector, so the editors decided to combine two different interviews in one publication.

Colonel-General Georgy S. OLEYNIK was born on January 29, 1944. He graduated from the Yaroslavl Military School in 1965 and the Military Faculty of the Moscow Financial Institute in 1976. He served as head of the financial allowance of a battalion, military hospital, regiment, head of the financial service division, air defense corps, army, head of the Financial Department of the Central Asian and Volga military districts, Deputy head of the Military Academy of Economics, Finance and Law for Academic and scientific work, head of the Military Financial and Economic Faculty at the Financial Academy under the Government of the Russian Federation. Candidate of Economic Sciences.

Since October 1996-Head of the Main Department of the Board, Military Budget and Financing of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.

Konstantin Alekseyevich TITOV was born on October 39, 1944 in Gada. He graduated from the Kuibyshev Aviation Institute in 1968. Kuibyshev Planning Institute in 1978 (postgraduate course) majoring in mechanical engineering. Candidate of Economic Sciences. Honored Economist Of The Russian Federation. Colonel of the reserve.

Since 1991-Head of the administration of the Samara region. In 1996, he was elected Governor of the region. Chairman of the Committee of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on Budget, Tax Policy, Financial, Currency and Customs Regulation, banking activities.

- First of all, I would like to know your opinion on how the financial and economic crisis affected the state's defense capabilities. Did it create a contradiction between these capabilities and the real needs of defense?

K. TITOV. It is clear that the current capabilities of the state have come into conflict with the needs of defense. Funds allocated for life support, combat training, and equipment upgrades are clearly not enough in the army.

The crisis that broke out on August 17 did not create, but simply highlighted more sharply and clearly the problems that arose much earlier. This is the result of miscalculations, mistakes and failures of the policy implemented since 1992. We are not talking about "reforms" per se, but about concrete steps. That a number of politicians and figures of previous governments did not understand the essence and principles of state - building, including the most important of them-ensuring the country's defense capability and security. Their erroneous decisions led to the collapse of the economy and the plight of the army, the constant underfunding of the Armed Forces and the defense industry.

The crisis of August 17 only once again clearly showed that this cannot continue. The situation needs to be resolutely changed.

City OF OLEYNIK. The economic crisis in the country could not but affect the defense sector. Due to their special position in society, the Armed Forces are experiencing a very painful economic crisis, and there are chronically insufficient financial resources to fulfill their mission. The state of the army and navy in all indicators of their vital activity is approaching critical, the socio-economic situation in military collectives remains extremely tense.

Nevertheless, despite the existing difficulties, the controllability of troops and forces remains, the Armed Forces solve the tasks assigned to them.

- How has the military budget been implemented in recent years? Is there a lower limit on army funding?

City OF OLEYNIK. We do not use this figure, but in fact the lower limit of the amount of appropriations allocated to the Ministry of Defense has already been reached. Real funding does not meet even the minimum requirements of the Armed Forces.

Funding for the Ministry of Defense has been unstable and insufficient for several years now. Since 1993, funds for defense have been approved significantly less than the minimum requirement. In addition, in 1993, 1,0 billion rubles were underfunded (in new, denominated rubles); in 1994 - 12,2 billion; in 1995 - 6,0 billion; in 1996 - 9,7 billion; in 1997 - 34,4 billion rubles from the amounts established by law.

As of January 4, 1999, of the 80.4 billion rubles approved by the Law "On the Federal Budget for 1998" for the Ministry of Defense, with a guaranteed funding limit of 65.8 billion, only 44.0 billion rubles were received - 54.7 percent of the amount of allocations provided for by law, or 66.9 percent of the guaranteed limit. Such funding puts the Armed Forces in extremely difficult conditions.

- How does this affect the technical equipment of the army?

City OF OLEYNIK. The appropriations allocated for equipping the Armed Forces with new, modern weapons and equipment are certainly insufficient. Therefore, the Ministry of Defense has the opportunity to purchase only single samples that have a direct impact on the combat readiness of the Armed Forces and, consequently, on the state's defense capability. The main part of the allocated appropriations is allocated for the purchase of spare parts and components for the repair and modernization of existing weapons and military equipment.

R & D projects commissioned by the Ministry of Defense are mainly aimed at creating a scientific reserve that ensures the equipping of troops and forces with advanced weapons,

- If even in times of more prosperous times, not enough funds were allocated for defense, where to get them in a crisis ?

K. TITOV. You say: no money? I am deeply convinced that such opportunities still exist today. Let's look at the problem specifically.

From year to year, we use the budget to provide loans to various industries, agriculture, and even irrevocably give money from the state treasury. And why don't they take loans from commercial banks for this purpose? If the rate is high there, and our banks are not doing well today, it is clear-let's attract capital from abroad. To do this, it is necessary to change the conditions for creating and registering joint banks in such a way as to make them attractive to foreigners and thus ensure the inflow of funds and foreign currencies.

There is an opportunity to optimize costs in many areas. In the meantime, while implementing economic reforms in the country, we are trying to solve a lot of problems at the expense of the state budget, so it does not get relief. Here's a concrete example: healthcare. The ratio of funds received for the unemployed population from the budget and employer payments is 70 to 30. Was it worth starting a health care reform if, in the end, the main burden remains on the state budget? Of course not. We need to change this ratio. How? Clearly define expenses for non-employees and set the same amount of payments to the employer. Not in the abstract - 3 percent of the salary fund, but specifically - in the amount of real needs, medical expenses, and employees. If 3 percent is not enough, let it be 5-6 percent, so that the company pays for the treatment of its employees, and not the budget. Then the overall ratio will change and become exactly the opposite: 30 percent from the budget, 70 percent from the employer. And direct the released budget funds to the main state needs, including defense, and give them to people in army greatcoats.

These are just some facets of very complex, voluminous financial problems. Today, we need to think not only about budget revenues, but also about optimizing government spending and, through this optimization, look for funds for our main state needs, for the army.

- What criteria are used to determine the defense sector's financial needs? Tell us about the principles of forming the military budget.

City OF OLEYNIK. Recently, there have been changes in approaches to the state's budget policy, which have affected the procedure for forming the federal budget for 1998 and, accordingly, the military budget. Thus, in the message of the President of the Russian Federation "On Budget Policy in 1998", it is noted that limited financial resources and urgent changes in the budget sphere make it necessary to determine the range of priorities and reduce expenditures that are not priority.

The task was set to move to planning expenditures not based on the stated needs, but based on the budget's capabilities, with subsequent adjustment of expenditures to the corresponding amounts of appropriations approved in the budget.

In this regard, the concept of "budget application for financing from the federal budget", which was used until 1998, was replaced by the concept of "budget cost planning". Pursuant to the message of the President of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Finance, when developing projections of the main budget expenditures-98, sent recipients of federal budget funds data on the maximum amounts of budget financing by sections and subsections of the budget classification of the Russian Federation.

The Ministry of Defense submitted to the Ministry of Finance the distribution of these limits by indicators of functional and economic classification of expenditures of the budgets of the Russian Federation, based on plans for military construction, the size of the Armed Forces, norms of monetary and in-kind allowances, material and technical support, standards for the maintenance of weapons, military equipment and property, their development programs, plans for industrial production and capital construction in the army and in the navy.

Unfortunately, the main thing that has not yet been achieved is the implementation of the provision set out in the" Fundamentals (Concept) of State policy on military construction for the period up to 2005 " on allocating at least 3.5 percent of the gross domestic product to national defense.

- The press reported that the debt owed to the military, defense workers, and suppliers of the Ministry of Defense actually exceeds the military budget. This problem has long gone beyond military camps, has become a problem for electric power companies, coal miners, transport workers, machine builders, agricultural enterprises, and the problem of filling local budgets in those regions where there is a large concentration of troops. To pay off these debts would be to move forward in eliminating the chain reaction of non-payments, to ensure the flow of funds to the real sector of the economy, and through it - to the budgets of various levels, which corresponds to the spirit of the anti-crisis measures being taken. Is it possible to start solving this problem today?

K. TITOV. It can and should be solved. But the main question is still the same: where to get the money? You can't do without an issue. But if only issue funds are used for this purpose, this is inflation with its negative consequences. The economic situation of the state and every citizen will not improve. Consider the hyperinflationary period of the first half of the nineties. This means that other economic mechanisms are required. And they are.

For example, the Ministry of Finance gives money to the Ministry of Defense for payment with suppliers. And suppliers themselves are debtors of the budget. Due to this debt, their products can be sold, financing and supply of the army can be organized.

There is another way. Several tens of billions of rubles worth of government treasury bonds were issued. They can be used as quasi-money to " fix " non-payments, including on orders from the Ministry of Defense.

The list of financial schemes could be continued. If they are used correctly, the issue measures will not be so large-scale and will not be able to significantly affect the general economic situation in the country and the ruble exchange rate.

- We have the Concept of national security of the Russian Federation, the Concept of state policy on military construction for the period up to 2005. They were approved by presidential decrees, and for us, the military, the Supreme Commander - in-Chief's orders have gained the force, which must be implemented accurately and on time. This is an absolute imperative, without which there can be no combat-ready army. And the Russian army lives by these laws. Despite everything, large-scale measures were taken to reform the Armed Forces, scheduled for 1998. But there is another national imperative - the budget law. Failure to comply with this law, in fact, deprives the army of the ability to solve the most important tasks related to the country's defense capability. The crisis has further complicated and exacerbated the situation. Where is the exit?

K. TITOV. In today's most difficult conditions, in my opinion, the state should focus its efforts on the main priorities of its policy, one of which, undoubtedly, is defense. It is necessary to clearly and concretely determine what funds are spent on maintaining and maintaining the combat capability of the army, on working with the conscription contingent, and what funds are spent on military reform - on developing new types of weapons. weapons, for the creation of a qualitatively new specific structure, new groups of troops and much more, this requires separate, additional funds. They should be provided for in the budget of the Ministry of Defense in a separate line. If this money is allocated in sufficient amount, then you can demand from the army to get a specific result. If it is not enough, then, gentlemen government officials, how much money they paid, so much they received...And the soldier, officer, general, Minister of Defense has nothing to do with it.

The Concept of National Security of the Russian Federation in connection with threats in the defense sector explicitly indicates the continuing gap between political attitudes and their implementation in military and military-technical policy, insufficient funding, and imperfection of the regulatory framework for military construction. Unfortunately, we have had more than once - both a new government or new people in it, and new "introductory" ones. And in the defense sector, momentary, opportunistic shies are unacceptable. The course of military reform, the level of financial, material and technical support of the army should be determined not by the subjective attitude of a particular state official to the army,but by the objective needs of the country's defense, determined in the long term. The right remedy for subjectivism is the law. I believe that the military reform needs to improve its legislative framework. If the goals and objectives of the state's military policy before 2005 are defined, then the tasks, role and responsibility of all ministries and departments involved in their implementation, financing, and material and technical support of the country's defense should be specifically defined for the same period.

- Are guarantees for the execution of military budget items being worked out?

City OF OLEYNIK. We have repeatedly submitted proposals to the Ministry of Finance on the implementation of guaranteed financing of certain vital items of the Ministry of Defense budget, regardless of the fullness of the budget revenue. So far, these proposals have not been implemented. Funding for the construction and maintenance of the Armed Forces continues on a residual basis. This is confirmed by the undiminished amount of debt owed by the Ministry of Defense to personnel and suppliers of products and services.

The search for ways out of this situation is underway at all levels of state and military administration.

- Konstantin Alekseevich, how does the committee you head participate in solving these problems?

K. TITOV. Our field of activity, by the very name and purpose of the committee, is finance, taxes, banking, currency and customs regulation. It would seem that if we approach it formally, there is no place for military issues here. In essence, the widest range of our problems is somehow connected with the army. You will agree that the state's ability to ensure the country's defense capability is primarily determined by the financial and economic sphere. And all our work is aimed at improving its health, which means that the state budget has enough funds for defense.

A number of areas of our work are directly related to the army. First of all, this is the state budget. Our committee has always firmly supported and defended the full funding of the Ministry of Defense in all areas. We have always insisted that the Defense Ministry's budget should be transparent. We believe that it is necessary to cut off from the army everything superfluous and unnecessary that is not related to combat capability, but only burdens it with unjustified, "unaffordable" expenses, distracting the funds and forces of the military from the main tasks and concerns.

Another important and fundamental aspect of the position of our defense committee is the social protection of military personnel and those dismissed from service, as well as their family members. There are many acute problems here. I will only touch on some of them.

Take at least housing certificates. It's a good thing in general. When it started, we, the Samaritans, were reproached: here in Nizhny Novgorod, in other cities they are handed out, but you do not take them. What happened to the money for housing certificates after August 17? The funds allocated earlier for a three-room apartment are now hardly enough for a one-room apartment.

I can offer a completely different funding scheme for this program. The Ministry of Finance knows how many military personnel are leaving for the reserve and, in military terms, needs to be quartered in Samara, Penza, Tomsk, and other regions. So please provide us, the regional administrations, with expenses for this contingent. And we will do everything on the ground ourselves, build a good housing, and much cheaper than now.

I am convinced that military personnel should receive apartments for free, and with such a scheme of financing the program, we will be able to provide them with housing. And for those who want to buy additional living space in excess of the established norms, we will offer modern, civilized forms of mortgages, loans on preferential terms, And no financial shocks to provide military personnel with housing. They won't affect you.

How else can you? For those who do not understand the urgency and importance of solving the social problems of military personnel, I suggest: try to put yourself in their place, understand a person with shoulder straps on his shoulders.

The law and duty, firm, true beliefs of a professional defender of the Fatherland make him consciously lose many of the most common everyday benefits, comfort, and comfort, and doom himself and his family to decades of hardships and hardships of army service, wandering around bear corners, where both the climate and everyday life are difficult and harsh. If ordered-under bullets. Goes without hesitation. It is necessary - and he will give his life...

But here comes the day when he gave everything in full-and his military duty, and strength, youth, health, and the best decades of his life. And what gets in return: the care of the state, the warmth of the Fatherland? The motherland called , and he went. And in his declining years, where should he lay his gray head, to what maternal breast, if it is weak, exhausted by crises?.. The easiest way to dismiss it: not up to you now, serviceman. But will this benefit the country? None at all. And the damage is huge. With such an attitude towards military service veterans, will there still be young people who want to take their place in the ranks? Who will protect Russia then?

Therefore, today we must seriously review all social programs that provide equal support to both the rich and the poor. And concentrate all our efforts on supporting the army, on strengthening its combat capability, which primarily depends on the morale of officers and soldiers.

This is the position of our committee. And we consistently translate it into the language of specific cases, participating in legislative work, conciliation commissions, parliamentary hearings, Government meetings, meetings in federal departments, including the Ministry of Defense. By the way, one of them - a meeting of the leadership of the Armed Forces, dedicated to the results of 1998, I especially remember. I liked the very nature of the discussion. It was felt that the leadership of the Armed Forces seriously sets and solves the main tasks, does not hide difficulties, problems and even unpleasant moments.

It is good that representatives of the Federation Council were invited to this meeting at the Ministry of Defense. I think that such communication should be firmly established in the practice of our work. We will better understand the tasks of strengthening the country's defense and the problems of the army.

- Article 29 of the Law of the Russian Federation "On the Status of Military Personnel" prescribes organizing annual monitoring of the socio-economic and legal status of military personnel, citizens dismissed from military service, and their family members. How is it conducted? How are its results used to solve army social problems?

City OF OLEYNIK. The study of the socio-economic and legal status of military personnel is carried out constantly. The obtained data are analyzed, summarized and used to justify and defend the position of the Ministry of Defense on social protection of military personnel in the central economic bodies of the state. We also monitor data on the cost of the minimum consumer basket, the amount of the subsistence minimum, and other indicators that characterize the standard of living in the country.

Unfortunately, in the current financial and economic conditions, it is not always possible to implement the results of monitoring. Here is a clear example of this: an increase in the salaries of military personnel is constantly postponed.

- This issue has both social and legal significance. Over the past three years, neither the previous nor the new Law of the Russian Federation "On the Status of Military Personnel" regarding the indexation of deposits has been implemented. During this time, the salaries of civil civil servants were raised repeatedly, and the military was forgotten. When and in what amount is it planned to increase the salaries of military personnel? How will the arrears of military personnel and civilian personnel of the Armed Forces on monetary allowances and salaries be repaid?

City OF OLEYNIK. Due to the extremely difficult financial and economic situation in the country, the Ministry of Defense has submitted proposals for gradually bringing the salaries of military personnel in accordance with Federal Law No. 76-FZ of May 27, 1998 "On the Status of Military Personnel", starting in 1999. These proposals provide for a 1.62-fold increase in official salaries starting from January 1, 1999, and approximately a twofold increase in military rank salaries starting from July 1, 1999.

The Government of the Russian Federation has made a fundamental decision to increase the salaries of military personnel.

The Russian Government is working on a mechanism for paying off arrears of military personnel's salaries, salaries of civilian personnel, and social and compensation payments. It is planned to do this in the same way for all budget organizations.

- In connection with the severity of social problems in the army, isn't it appropriate to raise the question of improving the mechanism for indexing the salaries of military personnel, for example, about automatically increasing them as the subsistence minimum grows?

City OF OLEYNIK. Making any proposal on a mechanism for rapid salary increases for military personnel, especially if it establishes the dependence of salaries on the monthly increase in the subsistence minimum, requires determining the source of financial resources for this. With an extremely limited budget, it is very difficult, and often impossible, to find such a source. Although the Federal Law "On the Status of Military Personnel", like some others, is not fully implemented, nevertheless, the provision on the establishment of salaries for military personnel depending on the minimum wage is the only real guarantee of social protection of military personnel in modern conditions.

- How do you see the problem of increasing the salaries of military personnel from the Federation Council?

K. TITOV. I believe that such an order should be established:

before signing a decision to raise the salaries of civil civil servants, a similar document must be signed for the military. If the state budget does not have enough money for all categories, then it is necessary first of all to allocate them to the army, those who are on duty day and night.

I am very sorry that we have many laws that are poorly implemented. There are many objective reasons and difficulties for this. But when it comes to military personnel and their social protection, the law must be implemented under all conditions as precisely and unconditionally as the requirements of laws for people in uniform are strict and unconditional. This necessity is related to the very nature of military service. The status of a serviceman is based on the formula established by law: special duties and responsibilities are a special concern of the state. If the state puts a military person in an extremely strict framework, puts on his shoulders loads, hardships and hardships that civil servants never dreamed of, then the legitimate rights of a person in uniform, including in terms of remuneration for his work, should be implemented just as clearly and in a timely manner.

The status law in its current form has a difficult fate. At the stage of discussion and adoption, various opinions were expressed on a number of its provisions. But our committee and the Federation Council as a whole have taken a principled position on this issue: military personnel should receive an increase in their salary in the amounts stipulated by law this year. We knew that it would not be easy to implement this requirement, but we consciously insisted that we should not delay solving this problem.

In the old days, military personnel were called the gold fund. Today, this definition is forgotten. And in vain. After all, nothing has changed. Isn't this our national treasure, a golden fund that should be protected?

- Army men, as you know, received less money than their peers in ranks and positions of officers of other law enforcement agencies. Did you manage to eliminate these distortions?

City OF OLEYNIK. Since January 1, 1993, by a decision of the Government of the Russian Federation, salaries for similar (similar, equated) positions, for military and special ranks, and a percentage superannuation in law enforcement ministries and departments have been established in the same amounts. However, in the future, by decisions of the legislative and executive authorities, a number of additional types of monetary allowances were introduced in a number of law enforcement agencies in order to encourage them to serve their personnel.

The Ministry of Defense has been working for three years to eliminate these contradictions in the remuneration of military personnel of various law enforcement agencies, and only in 1996 they were mostly eliminated. Currently, the salaries of monetary support and basic additional payments for military personnel of law enforcement agencies are similar. There are payments that encourage the activities of certain law enforcement agencies, which only apply to certain categories of employees, and this is quite justified.

- Georgy Semyonovich, it is not the first year that the military has been worried: will they cancel the benefits they have established? I would like to know your opinion about the possible consequences of canceling them.

City OF OLEYNIK. Guarantees, compensations and benefits are established by the Federal Law "On the Status of Military Personnel", which entered into force on January 1, 1998. Their cancellation will cause irreparable damage to the prestige and status of the serviceman. No civil public service requires as much effort and dedication as the military. Benefits, guarantees and compensations for military personnel are nothing more than compensation for the restriction of certain rights and freedoms, for the obligation to selflessly perform the task in any conditions, including at the risk of life. Defender of the Fatherland cannot be deprived of the special status traditional for Russia. I believe that the ordering of benefits is possible, but socially significant ones will be preserved in all cases. Currently, the question of their cancellation is not raised.

- Konstantin Alekseevich, does Samara feel the burden of defense problems? What is being done in the region to solve them?

K. TITOV. We have huge objects of the military-industrial complex, rocket and space production. In addition, we supply food to the troops of the Volga Military District, provide them with communal and other needs.

No matter what the situation, we cannot allow the idea that a soldier in our region will starve. Therefore, we are looking for various ways to help the troops, give loans to enterprises and commercial structures that supply food to the army. Of course, the repayment of these loans by the Ministry of Finance is associated with inflationary losses. But we consciously go to them because the needs of a person in an army uniform are more important to us than financial benefits.

We propose a new scheme for providing troops with food. Under the guarantees of the Ministry of Defense, we are ready to organize tenders and purchases of food for the army. You can pay off debts on these deliveries by reserving funds in the federal Treasury system from taxes deducted by the Samara Region to the Russian budget.

It is still too early to talk about the fate of this proposal. It is currently being worked out, and the Defense Ministry's leadership has expressed interest in it. We conducted an experiment that gave a positive result. In short, together we are looking for ways to reliably provide the troops with food.

We made a decision and developed a resolution of the Samara Region administration on preparing young people for military service. Its implementation will require serious expenditures from the regional budget. However, we consider them necessary because today conscripts do not fully meet the requirements imposed on them. We have taken upon ourselves the revival of primary military training in schools, we are equipping NVP classes, and we are looking for opportunities to organize additional meals for conscripts so that the troops receive strong, healthy, and service-ready recruits from the Samara Region.

Traditionally, from year to year, our countrymen are called up to the Navy. And now this tradition can get quite a concrete continuation. During a trip to Kamchatka, I sent a request to the naval command that one of the most modern submarine cruisers be given the name "Samara". The decision has not yet been made, but already many enterprises of the city and region are ready to join the work, so that the ship will be provided with everything necessary for service and everyday life, from televisions to food, and the best of our conscripts will serve on it.

- Today, when your fellow countrymen, like all Russians, fully feel the consequences of the financial and economic crisis, this initiative of Samaritans has a special meaning, serves as another reminder of how our society and the people treat the army, how they value military labor. And no crises will change this attitude?

K. TITOV. Believe me, in Samara, and in many other Russian cities, you will not hear skeptical arguments about the needs of the country's defense. So the vast majority of people understand perfectly well that without a strong, combat-ready army and ensuring national security, a prosperous future for Russia is unthinkable. The abundance of hot spots, hotbeds of tension and military conflicts near our borders leaves not the slightest reason for doubt. The country should have an army capable of effectively responding to any threats to our national interests, its quality parameters, and combat readiness should exclude attempts to talk to Russia from a position of strength. No crises can cancel this most important principle of our statehood.

The interview was conducted by Lieutenant Colonel Sergey Manyukov, a parliamentary columnist for Orientir magazine

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