http://en.rian.ru/russia/20080603/109168631.html
New chief of staff to revive Russia's ailing military - expert
MOSCOW, June 3 (RIA Novosti) - Gen. Nikolai Makarov's appointment as chief of
the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces suggests higher priority will be
given to modernizing the military, a top Russian military expert said on
Tuesday.
Deputy Defense Minister Gen. Nikolai Makarov has been appointed chief of the
General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces. He replaces Gen. Yury Baluyevsky,
who has been appointed deputy secretary of Russia's Security Council.
In an interview with RIA Novosti, Col. Gen. Leonid Ivashov, president of the
Academy of Geopolitical Studies, said the appointment of Gen. Makarov, former
chief of Armed Forces Arms Procurement, indicates that he may "reverse the
negative, destructive trends that are now plaguing the Armed Forces, and stop
the technical degradation of the Army and Navy."
He said the Russian military "has an acute shortage of new weaponry and
military equipment, ammunition, and other technical systems."
Gen. Ivashov said with the right political and financial support, Gen. Makarov
would be able to turn the Armed Forces around and make them more operationally
effective and improve combat readiness.
He said that former General Staff chief Gen. Yury Baluyevsky had disagreed with
Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov over military reforms.
The new chief of the General Staff told President Dmitry Medvedev earlier on
Tuesday that he was fully aware of the responsibility delegated to him and
would do everything to achieve the goals set for the Armed Forces, working in
conjunction with the Defense Ministry and the Security Council.
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