European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 8, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                A Young red army lieutenant discusses politics and the military with the people of Vilnius Lithuania. Is there army unravelling by Jim Stewart Cox news service. The red army the worlds largest armed Force has become seriously impaired by desertions plummeting morale and open talk of rebellion. Once the beneficiary of the Best that the soviet Union could produce the armed forces Are reeling from severe budget cutbacks and the Swift demobilization of 500,000 troops Many of whom now find themselves homeless and destitute according to russian military journals and analysts in Washington. Once unthinkable soviet officers have become targets of abuse and violence. Gen. Mikhail a. Moiseyev chief of the soviet general staff has reported to the Congress of Peoples deputies that 53 officers 11 of them in senior positions were murdered in 1989 while a performing their military  soviet paratroopers stormed a psychiatric Hospital in Vilnius last month dragging away More than 20 lithuanians who had sought Refuge there after deserting the soviet army when the Baltic Republic declared its Independence. It was a crucial test for the soviet High command. Many soldiers who fled when Lithuania announced its Independence March 11 volunteered to serve As the nucleus of a new lithuanian army and Border guard. Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev has ordered the Force disbanded in the growing War of nerves with his a rebellious Republic. A popular movement in the Ukraine is also calling for a separate army. And the soviet republics of Georgia and Azerbaijan have demanded that their soldiers serve Only within the republics boundaries. The seizing of the lithuanian deserters Marks the second time this year the red army has been used against its own citizens. When soviet forces were ordered to Azerbaijan where ethnic violence broke out Between moslem and armenians in january the army itself became a target. Military families were attacked As they evacuated Baku the capital of Azerbaijan. A soviet major general was severely beaten by an angry crowd pravda reported. Some ethnically mixed units reported fighting within their ranks. The action in Lithuania could result in further deepening of resentment toward the armed forces if not outright rebellion by the estimated 35,000 lithuanians still in the red army. Morale has dropped so Low that one Moscow journal Ogonek recently raised the possibility of a military coup. The notion was angrily dismissed by senior defense officials. Quot outright rebellion or behind the scenes support for a change of leadership would not have seemed possible in the soviet army Only a few months ago a a said or. William f. Scott who along with wife Harriet f. Scott is an expert on the soviet military. A but things Are becoming unravelled there rapidly so a said Scott who recently returned from Moscow. A there is More chaos by the  despite such problems the red army remains a formidable opponent with 33,000 nuclear warheads in its Arsenal and a competent professional officer corps. One possibility Harriet Scott suggested in a recent appraisal is that the military May be encouraging exaggeration of its problems to put pressure on the Kremlin to ease up on the armed forces. One of the biggest problems cited by the military is a deterioration of morale. A variety of factors is blamed most recently the disheartening intervention in Azerbaijan and the Prospect of More showdowns in the Baltic states. These events come on top of an admittedly poor combat performance in Afghanistan and a loss of prestige during the armenian earthquake last year. Soviet television pointed out in words and film that Small teams of foreigners rescued far More people than whole companies of soviet soldiers seen standing around leaning on shovels. Quot the prestige of the military profession is falling. Never before have we had such a situation a Deputy defense minister Vitaly Shabanov told the supreme soviet. A do you know that servicemen Are not allowed. To Exchange their dwellings with civilians or to rent their apartments or houses while they Are away in some places it is forbidden to drive private cars in the Winter or to enter a restaurant in uniform Quot soviet army col. Yuri stupor wrote to so Besednik a conservative anti perestroika publication. The previous notion that All soviet soldiers Are heroes has Quot cracked Quot soviet correspondent Ludmila Medvedeva wrote in Namya. Quot officers in big cities Are asking permission to Wear civilian clothes on the Way to work. Women Are embarrassed to go visit friends or go to the theater in the company of a Man in an army uniform. Gorbachev s 1988 United nations announcement that he would unilaterally Cut 500,000 from the 4.5 million Strong red army by 1991 greatly pleased the West but has been a severe Shock to the army. Approximately 150,000.officers were left without work or housing. Trade schools Are filled to overflowing i soldiers looking for new Job training. The soviet officer corps has traditionally been the Backbone of the army. With nearly 1 million officers three times the size of the . Officer corps a i As enjoyed special privileges separate housing ice hockey rinks and other recreational facilities pus right of going to the top of the waiting list for sue scarce goods As refrigerators and televisions. Officers frequently serve into old age and then retire to the same housing units that serve act veda y troops. Much of what is left Over is below . To i Levels. Deplorable living conditions was one of the complaints cited by a group of officers Las formed a military Union called Quot shield. Disabled soldiers fare worse according to Rece soviet journals. One Moscow veterans Hosp t been under construction for 17 years. E wheelchairs a inexplicably Designe Wias wheels in front a and artificial limbs a  such resentment has led to growing the draft. More than 6,500 soviets have so 1 draft in at least eight of the 15 Sovie p 1 Page 14 a a a the stars and stripes