Translated material
Planned "AWOL"
Members of the Public Council of the Ministry of Defense were allowed to independently visit military units
Yesterday the first meeting of the presidium of the Public Council under the Russian Ministry of Defense took place. It was moderated by the chairman of this organization, film director Nikita Mikhalkov, and the military department was represented by the Secretary of State - Deputy Minister of Defense, Army General Nikolai Pankov.The event was intended to be organizational and therefore not very fun. “I thought we would only raise our hands in agreement and express “approval,” but everything was in all seriousness,” Ruslan Pukhov, a member of the Public Council and director of the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, shared with Vremya Novostei. The heads of the Public Council commissions reported on what they have done since the organization was created less than a month ago. By the way, some commissions managed to meet twice during this time, and those headed by showman Leonid Yakubovich and actor Vasily Lanov - even three times.
Members of the presidium approved the organization's work plan for 2007. It includes three plenary sessions, four presidium meetings, consideration of the issue of “measures to maintain a high moral and psychological state of military personnel.” This event was planned to be held at the base of the 4th Guards Tank Division, stationed near Moscow, but members of the Public Council felt that the famous division was already frequently inspected, and expressed a desire to go somewhere further away. The proposal was accepted. In another case, the last word remained with the military - some members of the council were against examining private complaints that were already being received by the Public Council. General Pankov convinced his opponents by saying: “The ocean is studied through a drop of water. By studying specific cases, we can rise to the level of conceptualization and patterns.”
The plan for the year also includes strengthening ties with creative unions and associations, improving the regulatory framework for the social protection of military personnel, and conducting ceremonial rituals of taking the military oath. Members of the Public Council will be able to participate in meetings of district military councils, in gathering the leadership of the Armed Forces, in the development of a new military doctrine and the examination of legislative acts.
Work is planned in the troops - both on trips with Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov “as part of complex groups of the Ministry of Defense”, and independently. True, specific units and the dates for their visits are indicated, so visits to units by “social activists” will not come as a surprise to the military. The geography is wide: from the western borders of Russia through Siberian connections to the Pacific Fleet. It is planned who will go where. For example, Rabbi Aaron Gurevich and imam-khatib Ramil Alyautdinov will go to the Volga-Ural Military District to establish cultural and patronage work. State-patriotic action “We believe in you, soldier!” in the Leningrad Military District will be headed by actor Mikhail Boyarsky. The All-Russian festival of folk art of warriors and veterans will be organized by actor Vasily Lanovoy.
So that members of the Public Council could enter the territory of military units without unnecessary formalities, they were given certificates with stars on the cover. Certificate No. 1 from Mikhalkov. Receiving it, Nikita Sergeevich smartly reported: “I serve the public of Russia!” Certificate No. 2 - from his deputy, writer Yuri Polyakov, No. 3 - from Vitaly Shlykov, chairman of the commission on security policy and public examination of draft federal laws, member of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy. The Vremya Novostey newspaper asked him if, with such a pass, called an “all-terrain vehicle” in the military, he could easily visit the organization in which he had previously served - the main intelligence unit. After all, it also has the number of a military unit. It turns out that everything is not so simple. According to Mr. Shlykov, the decisive clause will be: you can visit everything that does not fall under the concept of “state secret.”
Naturally, members of the Presidium of the Public Council reasonably asked the question of how trips, actions for patriotic education, “the services of consultants, historians, lawyers,” and publishing activities would be financed. Nikita Mikhalkov proposed creating a fund. “I am convinced that if everything is reasonable, the Ministry of Defense will accept such expenses,” he assured.
The reception area of the Public Council has already been formed. Geographically, it will be located in Moscow, in the Cultural Center of the Russian Army on Suvorov Square. The military promised the council an official website. The council members were unanimous that “an apparatus is needed,” since a flood of letters had already begun. It was decided to allocate time on the Zvezda TV channel for consultations with military personnel. Leonid Yakubovich volunteered to lead this project.