The World - News from April 11, 1988

Corruption, poor discipline and improper personnel practices riddle the Soviet armed forces and diminish their combat readiness, the Communist Party newspaper Pravda said. In a single two-month period this year, Soviet military officers were fined $4 million for abuses of military regulations, including theft and willful damage to army property, Pravda said, quoting official army figures. Soviet soldiers are often used for a wide variety of non-military tasks ranging from civilian road repair to grain harvesting. Pravda also implied that some senior officers use soldiers for such personal projects as private home repair.