Putin fires six senior generals Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2000 CENTRAL EUROPE | Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed six senior generals from their posts in the defense ministry, a Kremlin spokeswoman told reporters on Tuesday. Analysts said the positions vacated by Putin were mid-level positions in logistics and procurement and were not top positions. However, officials said the dismissals could be related to a growing rift within Russia's defense establishment. One of the officers dismissed, Gen. Anatoly Sitnov, had recently criticized the government for spending too little on new weaponry and said Russia's conventional forces will fall hopelessly behind other armies within 10 years, the RTR television station reported. Two of the six had passed pension age, while the four others -- including Sitnov -- had been promised other jobs in the defense ministry, the Kremlin spokeswoman, speaking on anonymity, said. Sitnov was the ministry's acting chief of armaments. The spokeswoman said all six generals were only acting heads of various departments and that they had offered to tenure their resignations after Putin won the presidential election in May. Meanwhile, in the background, a rare public dispute has erupted within the defense ministry over whether Moscow should concentrate meager defense spending resources on conventional or nuclear weapons programs. "Their dismissal can be seen as an indication of the tensions and disagreements simmering (in the Defense Ministry)," said Pavel Felgenhauer, an independent defense analyst in Moscow. Also fired yesterday were the chief of the Defense Ministry's press service, Maj. Gen. Anatoly Shatalov; head of the rocket and artillery directorate, Gen. Nikolai Karaulov; and chief of the military's foreign economic relations Lt. Gen. Alexander Zobnin. The chief of biological, chemical and radiation defense, Col. Gen. Stanislav Petrov and anti-aircraft forces Col. Gen. Boris Dukhov had both surpassed retirement age, said the spokeswoman. <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
