Sign in to confirm you’re not a bot
This helps protect our community. Learn more

How Corruption Destroys Armies - Theft, Graft, and Russian failure in Ukraine

Perun
580K subscribers
<__slot-el>
<__slot-el>
2.6M views 2 years ago
On paper, Russian military modernisation should have produced a force that could overmatch the Ukrainian army. For more than a decade, funds for modernisation were allocated to State Defence Orders for everything from next generation aircraft and tanks, to new communications and battlefield control systems. Russian R&D did its part (mostly), turning out systems that won attention and praise at trade shows, while commentators steadily built the Russian army up as an example of a dangerous foe that proved you could achieve more with less in the military procurement space. Then they invaded Ukraine, and the image was shattered. I've previously explained this by looking at the Russian Defence budget and their priorities in the lead up to the invasion, but in doing that I refrained from focusing on one key issue. Corruption in Russia is endemic, corruption in the Russian defence sector (like many around the world) is a catastrophe. From the hig …...more
...more

The military Russia wanted us to see

0:00

Meet Sergei

1:10

What Am I Covering

2:11

Sponsor Segment

2:44

Caveats

4:11

Corruption in the Russian military

5:48

What does corruption look like & understanding corruption

7:31

Corruption at Senior Political Leadership level

8:17

Corruption at Senior Political Leadership level – who you know

9:28

Corruption at Senior Military Leadership level

11:15

Corruption at Senior Military Leadership level – Story of Battlecruiser Pyotr Veliki (Peter the Great)

12:45

Corruption at lower commanders level

15:03

Corruption at supply officer level

16:23

Corruption at "Private Conscriptovic" level

17:57

How to corrupt an Army 101 – a worked example

18:53

How to corrupt an Army 101 – phase 0: R&D

19:02

How to corrupt an Army 101 – Phase 1: Procurement

20:20

How to corrupt an Army 101 – phase 2: production & ordering

21:49

How to corrupt an Army 101 – phase 3: supply phase

23:17

How to corrupt an Army 101 – phase 4: the unit level

24:24

How to corrupt an Army 101 – Phase 5: the front

26:19

Why is it so damaging

27:50

The economics of corruption

28:03

Not all corruption is "theft"

28:43

It can destroy research & industry

30:07

Cultural corrosion

31:42

Asymmetric cost/benefit

33:10

The Critical Gear

35:57

Why are militaries so vulnerable to corruption

38:54

Public attitude

39:06

Hierarchy

39:53

Secrecy

41:34

Invisibility

43:39

How to deal with corruption – mechanics and processes

47:48

Culture

50:23

Summary

52:36

Channel updates

54:32
How Corruption Destroys Armies - Theft, Graft, and Russian failure in Ukraine
70KLikes
2,628,083Views
2022May 29
On paper, Russian military modernisation should have produced a force that could overmatch the Ukrainian army. For more than a decade, funds for modernisation were allocated to State Defence Orders for everything from next generation aircraft and tanks, to new communications and battlefield control systems. Russian R&D did its part (mostly), turning out systems that won attention and praise at trade shows, while commentators steadily built the Russian army up as an example of a dangerous foe that proved you could achieve more with less in the military procurement space. Then they invaded Ukraine, and the image was shattered. I've previously explained this by looking at the Russian Defence budget and their priorities in the lead up to the invasion, but in doing that I refrained from focusing on one key issue. Corruption in Russia is endemic, corruption in the Russian defence sector (like many around the world) is a catastrophe. From the highest levels of procurement fraud, down to the level of the enlisted personal hawking diesel, copper, and even explosives for petty cash, corruption has been a constant thorn in the side of all efforts to modernise the Russian army and mould it into an effective fighting force. In this video, I try to take a somewhat light hearted look at how corruption in a military context can (and sometimes does) work, citing examples of actual cases and using hypotheticals to demonstrate the kinds of actions that can rot an institution from head to tail. For those of you in countries that face this problem, it should all seem a little familiar. Examples are taken from the sources listed below and I make no independent representations on the veracity of any claims. I don't know exactly how much is stolen from the Russian defence budget, I doubt anyone does. But what I can do, is help us understand how a nation capable of producing some of the most advanced defence equipment in the world would be running out of fuel on day 3, and be rolling out museum piece tanks less than three months into a major conflict. Sponsor: I am fortunate enough to have a sponsor for this video, Ground News Compare news coverage. Spot media bias. Avoid algorithms. Be well informed. Download the free Ground News app at: https://www.ground.news/perun A majority of proceeds from that sponsorship will be directed to the Australian Red Cross Ukraine appeal, which supports Ukrainians displaced by the war. https://www.redcross.org.au/ukraine/ Caveats and notes: As always - note that this content is intended primarily for entertainment and should not be relied on as the basis for any commercial, financial or other decision or purpose. Key sources: Corruption in the Russian Defence Sector (Beliakova and Perlo-Freeman) https://sites.tufts.edu/wpf/files/201... Russian statements (albeit old) on defence budget theft https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ru... Russian corruption ranking https://www.transparency.org/en/count... Patreon:   / perunau   Timestamps: 00:00:00 -- The military Russia wanted us to see 00:01:10 -- Meet Sergei 00:02:11 -- What Am I Covering 00:02:44 -- Sponsor Segment 00:04:11 -- Caveats 00:05:48 -- Corruption in the Russian military 00:07:31 -- What does corruption look like & understanding corruption 00:08:17 -- Corruption at Senior Political Leadership level 00:09:28 -- Corruption at Senior Political Leadership level – who you know 00:11:15 -- Corruption at Senior Military Leadership level 00:12:45 -- Corruption at Senior Military Leadership level – Story of Battlecruiser Pyotr Veliki (Peter the Great) 00:15:03 -- Corruption at lower commanders level 00:16:23 -- Corruption at supply officer level 00:17:57 -- Corruption at "Private Conscriptovic" level 00:18:53 -- How to corrupt an Army 101 – a worked example 00:19:02 -- How to corrupt an Army 101 – phase 0: R&D 00:20:20 -- How to corrupt an Army 101 – Phase 1: Procurement 00:21:49 -- How to corrupt an Army 101 – phase 2: production & ordering 00:23:17 -- How to corrupt an Army 101 – phase 3: supply phase 00:24:24 -- How to corrupt an Army 101 – phase 4: the unit level 00:26:19 -- How to corrupt an Army 101 – Phase 5: the front 00:27:50 -- Why is it so damaging 00:28:03 -- The economics of corruption 00:28:43 -- Not all corruption is "theft" 00:30:07 -- It can destroy research & industry 00:31:42 -- Cultural corrosion 00:33:10 -- Asymmetric cost/benefit 00:35:57 -- The Critical Gear 00:38:54 -- Why are militaries so vulnerable to corruption 00:39:06 -- Public attitude 00:39:53 -- Hierarchy 00:41:34 -- Secrecy 00:43:39 -- Invisibility 00:47:48 -- How to deal with corruption – mechanics and processes 00:50:23 -- Culture 00:52:36 -- Summary 00:54:32 -- Channel updates

Follow along using the transcript.

Perun

580K subscribers