| The General Staff was finally subordinated to the Ministry of Defense The dual power that has reigned in the Russian military department for the past few years has less than a month left: after the State Duma adopted by 382 votes against four extremely significant amendments to six articles of the federal law “On Defense,” the General Staff, in fact, lost its status as the second “center of power.” After the decision of the Duma members is approved by the upper house of parliament, which should happen within two weeks, and approved by the president, the law, “adapted” to modern Russian political life and personalities, will gain force.
The history of the struggle for power in the military department begins with the conflict between the former head of the Ministry of Defense, Marshal Igor Sergeev, and the Chief of the General Staff, Army General Anatoly Kvashnin. The first insisted on the predominant development of strategic nuclear forces (SNF), brought them, in fact, under a single command and actively lobbied for the creation of the post of another of his deputy - for strategic nuclear forces. The second, by all possible and impossible means, protected and nurtured general-purpose forces, professing the principle: victory comes when an infantryman sets foot on enemy soil. Hence many vague and ineffective organizational changes, not to mention the loss of clear control of the army and navy.
The “carpet” for the struggle of titans in uniform was, oddly enough, the Law “On Defense,” which stated that the management of the armed forces is carried out by the Minister of Defense through the General Staff, “which is the main body of operational management.” That is, the General Staff, structurally part of the Ministry of Defense, stood on a par with the military department. Anatoly Kvashnin issued his own directives, which sometimes contradicted the orders of the minister, which, naturally, brought confusion to the troops. However, the existing situation did not fit into the administrative reform, which provides for a three-level system of subordination: ministry - service - agency. There is no fourth option.
In the new version of the law, “the management of the armed forces is carried out by the Minister of Defense through the Ministry of Defense.” Moreover, if earlier the president approved regulations on both the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff, now only on the Ministry of Defense. The responsibilities of the General Staff will be determined directly by the Minister of Defense. They have not yet been determined, since Art. 14 of the law, where the responsibilities of the General Staff were spelled out, was removed altogether. One way or another, functions that are unusual, as defined by Sergei Ivanov, will be taken away from the General Staff, leaving strategic planning, mobilization and combat training, identifying new threats at an early stage and proposals for neutralizing them. In a word, the role of the “brain of the army”, from which the high-crowned cap was torn off, has been reduced to the level of one of the main or central departments of the Ministry of Defense.
It would seem that the main principle of any military organization has triumphed - the principle of unity of command, unity of military command. However, many questions remain. How, on what principles, to create this General Staff, which does nothing but generate ideas? Who, instead of the General Staff, will manage more than a million armed forces? Perhaps the burden of power will shift to the commanders-in-chief and commanders of the military branches. How much time, effort and money will it take to create this analogue of the Chiefs of Staff Committee, will it take root on Russian soil and will the army remain uncontrollable for a long time? Finally, which body will coordinate the Russian security agencies during a period of threat or in the event of war?
Another innovation in the law clarifies something. If earlier the issues of the actions of the armed forces and other troops during the introduction of martial law or a state of emergency were regulated by constitutional and federal laws, now they are also regulated by regulatory legal acts of the President of Russia. This means that the Supreme Commander-in-Chief can take over the leadership of the security component of the state during the “H” period. So there will be no trace left of the former dual power. Nikolay POROSKOV |
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