Personnel is not everything

In the military department, apparently, a big shake-up is gaining momentum. In the three months that have passed since the appointment of Anatoly Serdyukov as Minister of Defense, the head of the main department of international military cooperation, Anatoly Mazurkevich, and the deputy minister and chief of armaments, General Alexei Moskovsky, have already lost their positions. Air Force Commander-in-Chief Mikhailov has just been fired. Informed people claim that the main financier Lyubov Kudelina and the main logistician Vladimir Isako are next in line. All this is less like a planned rotation of personnel, as they are trying to present it.

So General Moskovsky, who had just turned 60 years old, submitted a report on extending his service life. However, the military commander’s request was not granted. Rumors about Mikhailov’s possible resignation began to spread a few weeks ago, but the commander-in-chief’s subordinates resolutely denied them. That is, the dismissals became an unpleasant surprise for those who were forced to leave the military department. In addition, it is not difficult to notice that we are talking about people who have occupied and are occupying the most, to put it mildly, “financially intensive” positions.

They controlled gigantic cash flows. In fact, every fifth ruble of the state budget passed through the departments subordinate to them.

Passed through to sink into some kind of black hole. There are many questions for each of the high-ranking military officials listed above. Why do people associated with the military industry claim that the amount of kickbacks is no less than thirty percent of the contract amount? And is it any wonder that the price of products is rising rapidly? Why, after spending billions, the Ministry of Defense received only five new aircraft, why has the scam called “fifth generation fighter” lasted for ten years? Why was it that every year there were funds in the accounts of the military department that “did not have time” to be sent to their intended destination?

They say that having transferred several of his former colleagues from the tax department to the Ministry of Defense, Serdyukov instructed them to check not the departments of the ministry, but how specific programs for which specific leaders are responsible are being implemented. And it turned out that behind each of them there are arrears worth billions...

It is already clear that Serdyukov, who is not inclined to publicity, is anyone but the shadow of First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov. After all, he is getting rid of the people who came to the Ministry of Defense along with Ivanov, whose work Ivanov was quite pleased with. I don’t really believe in the theory that Serdyukov was specially sent by the enemies of the heir candidate in order to discredit Sergei Borisovich in the eyes of the country’s main voter.

If this were the case, then these officials would not be dismissed with honor, but, as they said in one film, they would be dragged to death “without orders and insignia, in shackles.” But they are quietly seen off to retirement, since it is quite difficult to explain why such an effective leader as Ivanov put up with thieving subordinates for seven years.

I think there is another attempt to remove “bad” military officials and put “good” ones in their place. For Putin, this is his second attempt. Even after the Kursk tragedy, the president was surprised to find out that his generals were lying to him. And he sent his closest friend and ally Sergei Ivanov to restore order. The generals chewed through the new minister without choking. And now the Commander-in-Chief received from Ivanov’s hands the noodles that the generals hung on his ears. And about the transfer to a contract basis, and about magic warheads, and about the rapid rearmament of the army.

However, it is now obvious: despite the fact that enormous amounts of money have been spent, our Armed Forces have remained as they were - degraded, mired in corruption and violence. And Putin cannot help but understand this. And he sends an experienced specialist to at least restore order to financial flows. And Serdyukov strives to honestly fulfill the task assigned to him. I do not rule out that he will be able to find traces of the missing billions. One can also assume what is almost impossible in Putin's Russia - that ineffective officials will be punished.

And then what? I can say with 100% certainty that those fired and punished will be replaced by exactly the same thieving and untalented people. Every builder of the notorious “vertical of power” in Russia—and Putin is by no means a pioneer here—stumbled over the same bump. Nicholas I complained about the dishonesty and stupidity of officials. Stalin did not put forward the slogan “Personnel decide everything” out of a good life.

But the fact of the matter is that in a system in which an official reports only to a superior, in which all decisions are made by one person, by definition, very specific personnel can survive. The vertical of power was created in order to govern the country without the participation of the people. Manage non-publicly, secretly. But without a public discussion of state programs, including military ones, without control from the press and parliament, an inspector will have to be assigned to each boss. Or, once every five years, fire those who steal and put new, very honest ones in their place. But a few hungry...