In the recent past there has been animated discussion of problems related to the image of the various social institutions and state organizations of Russia, including the Russian armed forces. Sociological analysis is a constructive way to shed light on the image of the military. The armed forces are linked closely to the main spheres of the life of a society. The functioning and development of the military are dependent, first and foremost, on the level of material production and the current state of the military industrial complex that has to supply it with equipment and weapons as well as with personnel strength. Its condition is affected by social, national/ethnic, and religious structures. These factors have an influence on the personnel strength of the armed forces and on the character of relations among military service personnel, as well as on the moral political unity of the military and society. The character of the interactions between social and political factors will determine the effectiveness of the use of both the military potential of society and the combat potential of the armed forces. The current state of the military is also affected by the spiritual life of society, the culture and science of society. The political stability of the state is placed in considerable jeopardy by any use of the armed forces that is not in keeping with its functional purpose. In this article, the authors argue that when implementing the sociological approach, whose chief principle is systematicity, it needs to be kept in mind that the "image of the armed forces," taken separately, is nothing more than a fragment, a component of the overall image of Russia as a world power. (Contains 2 notes.)