Generals write reports

Personnel changes in the leadership of the armed forces

Personnel reform of the Russian Armed Forces, which actually began back in February last year with the appointment of the then head of the Federal Tax Service Anatoly Serdyukov to the post of Minister of Defense, continues. Yesterday it became known that the Deputy Chief of the General Staff, Head of the Main Operations Directorate, Colonel General Alexander Rukshin, and the Chief of Communications of the Armed Forces, another Deputy Chief of the General Staff, Colonel General Yevgeny Karpov, were dismissed from their positions.

Moreover, there were rumors that the head of the Main Organizational and Mobilization Directorate of the General Staff, General Vasily Smirnov, who was responsible for conscription, also put the report on the table. After some time, Vasily Vasilyevich, however, disowned the dismissal report, assuring that he would continue to serve in his post faithfully. “I didn’t write any reports, and there’s no such thing in my thoughts,” said General Smirnov.

The Main Operations Directorate is considered to be the first in the General Staff by numbering. It is here that plans for global military operations for the near future are traditionally developed. Second on the list is the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU). Its head, Colonel General Valentin Korabelnikov, as this department told the Vremya Novostei observer, did not write any reports and remains at his post, although his age as a general is also “off scale.” As is known, upon reaching the age of 60, generals can be dismissed automatically, and the decision to continue their service is made on an individual basis.

General Rukshin is known for his harsh position on global military-political issues. In particular, he has always been a supporter of the use of nuclear weapons if weapons of mass destruction are or are planned to be used against us and our allies. It was Rukshin who released information that the test results of the new aircraft munition created showed that it was comparable in its effectiveness and capabilities to nuclear munitions. He is considered one of the fathers of Russian military doctrine . General Rukshin was and remains a thorn in the side of the Georgian leadership, since he has always been a supporter of the presence of our military contingent in Abkhazia. At the same time, General Rukshin has repeatedly written about the priority of non-military means of resolving conflicts, including global ones.

It should be recalled that recently the commander of the Space Forces, Colonel General Vladimir Popovkin, was appointed Deputy Minister of Defense for Armaments - instead of the current Chief of the General Staff Nikolai Makarov. In turn, Major General Oleg Ostapenko was appointed to replace General Popovkin.

That is, without announcing major movements, Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov is “pushing his line.” The General Staff claims that this is not necessarily consistent with the position of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, President Dmitry Medvedev. In any case, after the resignation from the post of Chief of the General Staff Yuri Baluevsky and his unexpected replacement by Nikolai Makarov, the reshuffles in the General Staff were quite predictable.

Nikolay POROSKOV