Russia vs. Latvia
Military
| Russia | Latvia | |
|---|---|---|
| Military branches | Armed Forces of the Russian Federation: Ground Troops (Sukhoputnyye Voyskia, SV), Navy (Voyenno-Morskoy Flot, VMF), Aerospace Forces (Vozdushno-Kosmicheskiye Sily, VKS); Airborne Troops (Vozdushno-Desantnyye Voyska, VDV), and Missile Troops of Strategic Purpose (Raketnyye Voyska Strategicheskogo Naznacheniya, RVSN) referred to commonly as Strategic Rocket Forces, are independent "combat arms," not subordinate to any of the three branches Federal National Guard Troops Service of the Russian Federation (National Guard (FSVNG), Russian Guard, or Rosgvardiya): created in 2016 as an independent agency for internal/regime security, combating terrorism and narcotics trafficking, protecting important state facilities and government personnel, and supporting border security; forces under the National Guard include the Special Purpose Mobile Units (OMON), Special Rapid Response Detachment (SOBR), and Interior Troops (VV); these troops were originally under the command of the Interior Ministry (MVD) Federal Security Services Border Troops (includes land and maritime forces) (2021) | National Armed Forces (Nacionalie Brunotie Speki): Land Forces (Latvijas Sauszemes Speki), Naval Force (Latvijas Juras Speki, includes Coast Guard (Latvijas Kara Flote)), Air Force (Latvijas Gaisa Speki), National Guard (2021) |
| Military service age and obligation | 18-27 years of age for compulsory or voluntary military service; males are registered for the draft at 17 years of age; one-year service obligation (Russia offers the option of serving on a two-year contract instead of completing a one-year conscription period); reserve obligation for non-officers to age 50; enrollment in military schools from the age of 16, cadets classified as members of the armed forces (2019) note: in April of 2019, the Russian government pledged its intent to end conscription | 18 years of age for voluntary male and female military service; no conscription (abolished 2007); under current law, every citizen is entitled to serve in the armed forces for life (2019) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4% of GDP (2020 est.) 3.9% of GDP (2019) 3.8% of GDP (2018) 4.2% of GDP (2017) 5.4% of GDP (2016) | 2.27% of GDP (2020 est.) 2.03% of GDP (2019) 2.06% of GDP (2018) 1.59% of GDP (2017) 1.44% of GDP (2016) |
| Military and security service personnel strengths | information varies; approximately 800,000 total active duty troops (350,000 Ground Troops, including about 40,000 Airborne Troops; 150,000 Navy; 150,000 Aerospace Forces; 60,000 Strategic Rocket Forces; 90,000 other uniformed personnel (special operations forces, command and control, support, etc.); est. 200-250,000 Federal National Guard Troops (2020) | the National Armed Forces of Latvia have approximately 6,000 active duty troops (5,000 Land Forces; 500 Naval Force/Coast Guard; 500 Air Force) (2021) |
| Military equipment inventories and acquisitions | the Russian Federation's military and paramilitary services are equipped with domestically-produced weapons systems, although since 2010 Russia has imported limited amounts of military hardware from several countries, including Czechia, France, Israel, Italy, Turkey, and Ukraine; the Russian defense industry is capable of designing, developing, and producing a full range of advanced air, land, missile, and naval systems; Russia is the world's second largest exporter of military hardware (2020) | the Latvian military's inventory is limited and consists of a mixture of Soviet-era and more modern--mostly second-hand--European and US equipment; since 2010, it has received limited amounts of equipment from several European countries, as well as the US (2020) |
Source: CIA Factbook
