Minus two

Of the six military districts in Russia, four may remain

The number of military districts in Russia, according to the plan being developed by the General Staff, will be reduced from six to four. This will happen before December 1 of this year and is associated with the creation of operational-strategic commands (OSC) based on the merger and consolidation of districts. “The operational-strategic command is the main planning body in solving operational problems,” this was the definition given six months ago by the Chief of the General Staff Nikolai Makarov. In the armed forces, this reorganization is considered the final stage of reform of the operational-strategic command and control level.

Geographically it will look like this. The Moscow and Leningrad military districts will be united into the Western Military District (or USC) with headquarters in St. Petersburg. The Southern Military District (aka USC) will be created on the basis of the North Caucasus Military District. The Volga-Ural Military District and the western part of the Siberian Military District will merge into the Central Military District (USD) with headquarters in Yekaterinburg. The current Far Eastern Military District and the eastern part of the Siberian Military District will become the basis of the Eastern Military District (OSD) with headquarters in Khabarovsk.

Let us remind you: optimization is being carried out in the system of military command and control bodies - the existing four-tier command system (military district, army, division, regiment) is changing to a three-tier one (military district, operational command, brigade).

All units and formations of the armed forces, as well as other security forces located on their territory, will be promptly subordinate to the new USC. In particular, the Baltic and Northern Fleets will be transferred to the operational subordination of the commander of the Western District, the Black Sea Fleet and the Caspian Flotilla will be transferred to the commander of the Southern Military District, and the Pacific Fleet will be subordinated to the commander of the Eastern District. It is understood, one must assume, that the forces of the internal troops, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the Federal Penitentiary Service, and border guards will also be subordinate to the USC commanders, but only for a special period - during the preparation and conduct of military operations. The scheme being prepared is very reminiscent of the structure of strategic directions that existed during the Soviet Union. The military districts were then retained.

The issue of subordination of “strategists” to the USC commanders—units and formations of the strategic missile forces, long-range aviation and space forces—has not yet been resolved. The decision is currently being worked out and is being personally handled by the Chief of the General Staff, Army General Nikolai Makarov. Probably, these forces will remain directly subordinate to the General Staff and the Ministry of Defense - too much depends on them to be given to a lower level of control.

The officer corps of the armed forces is not expected to be reduced. Moreover, after the radical reform measures, there are already not enough officers - the number of officer positions in the army and navy is being cut from 355 thousand to 150 thousand. The officers will simply be moved and redistributed to new duty stations.

The planned consolidation of military districts will be tested at the upcoming operational-strategic exercises "Vostok-2010" at the end of June - beginning of July. They will be held under the leadership of the Chief of the General Staff. From January 11 to 14 of this year, the General Staff inspected formations and military units of the Far Eastern Military District, the Pacific Fleet and the Air Force and Air Defense Association. The purpose of the inspection is to determine the readiness of associations, formations and military units to perform tasks in the new organizational and staffing structure, where the main place is occupied by operational-strategic commands. In 2010, similar inspections will be carried out in all USCs.

Nikolay POROSKOV