The normally tightly closed Russian military is embarking on an unprecedented international PR exercise to show the world that the Great Bear is very much awake and keeping its claws sharpened.

The BBC was recently given unparalleled access to Russian military operations and training in a less than subtle attempt to show the world that the Russian military still means business.
 
The PR push coincided with President Medvedev order for a major military rearmament and reform programme. He announced that over the next five years £90 million would be invested in upgrading the army, navy and air force.

The hawkish tone of the announcement flies in the face of President Obama’s recent efforts to ease tensions with over the siting of a potential US missile defence in Eastern Europe.

It would seem it will take more than a hint at an olive branch from the new President to reassure a Russia still deeply suspicious of western attempts to enlarge NATO into what it sees as its sphere of influence.

This suspicion combined with the recent exposure of Russian military weakness during the Georgian campaign and a bank full of oil roubles has combined to spearhead the biggest budget expenditure on military hardware since the cold war.

According to analysts it is the failures of the brief war in Georgia that has caused the greatest concerns by exposing deep rooted problems with outdated equipment and practices within Russia's armed forces.
 
In the end it was the sheer numbers of Russian troops rather than the quality of equipment personnel or tactics that overwhelmed the Georgians. A strength in numbers approach used by Russia since WWI and one that hardly reflects its desired status as a modern regional power player.

The President admitted during the announcement that most of Russia's weaponry was "old and obsolete’ with modern equipment accounting for only 10 per cent of the army's existing arsenal.

Mr Medvedev told army chiefs that "no expense should be spared" despite the economic crisis sweeping through Russia.

Although Russian military spending at around $50 billion is around two thirds of the size of the UK budget, they still rely on a mass conscription force modelled to fight a war against the West in Europe.

Total manpower is over one million compared to barely 200,000 in the UK. Corruption and inefficiency is rife and the decision makers have finally accepting that it is no longer a military fit for purpose.

So what are the implications for the west from a newly fired up Russian military loaded up with the latest kit? Well most western analysts are relaxed about the rearming. They basically see it as Russia using oil revenues to reverse years of underinvestment and neglect.

It is not so much a case of Russia starting a new arms race, as playing a game of catch up. Even with this investment they will still lag behind most modern European defence forces in terms of overall capability and technological know how.

However flexing its military muscle through the media communicates a powerful and cost effective message to both her friends and potential enemies that the Great Bear is no sleeping giant.