I didn't realize the Russians were using conscripts for to crew their naval vessels. The new Russian ground forces have gotten away from that with better trained soldiers, at least in theory. Back in the Soviet era, the ground forces' greatest weakness was a lack of a professional NCO corps. With the army composed largely of professional officers leading conscripts who typically served for only 2 years, the powerful Soviet juggernaut was a bit less powerful than a lot of people believed.

Yet Russia was still unable to take Kiev in a conventional operation that every military analyst in the world assumed would be a rather trivial task.

One important reason is that it turned out the new professional NCO corps was as corrupt as the old Soviet officer corps. The Russian army chintzes on paying NCOs, who tend to feel undervalued and unable to live a decent lifestyle. So ... They resort to the standard old practices of dealing in military supplies on a gray or black market, and inflating unit preparedness and supply levels on official reports. Just like the old Soviet officer corps used to do. Old habits die hard, I suppose.

I don't know if the Soviet navy was ever that crippled by corruption, but the Soviet ground forces certainly were, and it looks like it's playing out again.