Putin with Shoygu and Gerasimov
Today President Putin retired Chief of the General Staff Nikolay Makarov. An old hand, currently Commander of the Central MD, General-Colonel Valeriy Gerasimov replaces him. Putin also dropped First Deputy Defense Minister Aleksandr Sukhorukov (who’d had responsibility for armaments). Western MD Commander Arkadiy Bakhin replaces Sukhorukov. Aerospace Defense Troops Commander, General-Colonel Oleg Ostapenko also becomes a deputy defense minister. Here’s the ukaz on the appointments, and on the dismissals.
Meeting with Gerasimov and Shoygu, Putin told the new NGSh he’s concerned by constantly changing Defense Ministry requirements on industry, and looks to him, and to the new defense minister, to “build a good, stable working partnership with our leading defense industrial enterprises.”
Serdyukov didn’t have one. Perhaps all is not sweetness and light with the defense order in 2012.
Russian Defense Policy 