Category Archives: VDV

Shamanov Sides with Serdyukov

Posted on October 21, 2010 | Leave a comment

General-Lieutenant Shamanov

VDV Commander Vladimir Shamanov knows which side his bread’s buttered on.  Talking to the press yesterday, Shamanov supported the boss in the storm over his alleged obscenity and грубость at the VDV’s Seltsy training center.

In short, Tverskaya, 13 reported the airborne chief doesn’t believe the story about Defense Minister Serdyukov.  He denies the boss ordered Colonel Krasov dismissed as head of the airborne commissioning school.

According to Shamanov, Serdyukov expressed doubts about constructing the Church of the Prophet Elijah opposite the airborne training school, since cadets aren’t there for long.  The Defense Minister suggested [politely one is sure] that they move the church to a populated area adjacent to the training center where the congregation can take care of it [but aren’t the VDV cadets and officers the congregation?].  Shamanov concludes:

“All the rest is cock and bull.”

Apparently answering the Union of Russian Airborne Troops’ appeal to the President and Patriarch, Shamanov told ITAR-TASS and RIA Novosti he’s satisfied with the course of army reforms, and doesn’t see any reason to worry about the fate of his service branch:

“The plans that will be presented to the Supreme CINC for approval indicate that the VDV’s composition will remain as before.  Also two more district-level airborne formations [соединение] should come into service raising the troops’ potential overall.”

As if to assure people the VDV won’t march on the Kremlin, Shamanov added that the situation in his branch is “normal,” and his troops are occupied with combat training as usual.

Tverskaya, 13 reported Shamanov saying for the umpteenth time that his branch will remain independent [i.e. not be subordinated to the Ground Troops] under Serdyukov’s ‘new profile’ reforms.  He added that the VDV will get the BMD-4M according to the ‘concept’ of GPV 2020.

We should recall that Serdyukov may have helped Shamanov on some occasions, and certainly did in one instance.  The Defense Minister at least acquiesced in Shamanov’s return to lead the VDV in May 2009.  And last September, he helped Shamanov out of his own scandal when he tried to order a detachment from the VDV’s 45th Independent Reconnaissance Regiment to detain an investigator looking into his son-in-law, a well-known criminal figure.  Shamanov only got a reprimand for this incident.  He could easily have been dismissed.  Serdyukov likely retained him because the airborne general is a useful ally.

In today’s Tverskaya, 13, Deputy Defense Minister Naginskiy offered an impassioned defense of Serdyukov.  Naginskiy was on the Seltsy inspection with the Defense Minister.

Naginskiy said they saw facilities unfinished since 2008.  But he doesn’t exactly deny the press reports:

“Nothing terrible happened there.  I think if people standing 120 meters behind us heard something, filled it in, and put it on the Internet, they are dishonest.  I can say there was no boorishness or cursing, but there were raised voices, when on the territory of a unit entrusted to you someone is selling things and someone is building for 180 million rubles, undoubtedly, this calls forth natural indignation and, as it should, a conversation in raised voices.”

Naginskiy goes on, questioning why they need a church at Seltsy when troops go there to train and then return to Ryazan, but:

“I’m in absolute solidarity with the Defense Minister — what I saw there brought indignation.  There were no orders to move the church.”

This morning Nezavisimaya gazeta’s Viktor Litovkin reported some comments from Colonel Krasov himself: 

“In particular, Serdyukov expressed dissatisfaction over the incomplete repair of the cafeteria and engineering networks.  The conversation was very emotional both from Krasov’s side [speaking of himself in the third person] and from Serdyukov’s side.  However, this was a businesslike dialog.  The Ryazan school has already eliminated deficiencies revealed during the military minister’s visit.”

That certainly sounds like some type of unpleasantness transpired.  Litovkin says it’s strange neither Shamanov nor Krasov remembered [or mentioned] any obscenities.  But nevertheless he concludes:

“If this is ‘cock and bull’ as General Shamanov says, or simply ‘businesslike dialog,’ as Colonel Krasov asserts, then it’s no longer worth worrying about the battle against dedovshchina and nonregulation relations in the armed forces.”

It isn’t worth it because the abuse of subordinates apparently begins from the Defense Ministry’s very top, and won’t ever be rooted out.

Litovkin finishes saying the VDV have nothing to gain from fighting with Serdyukov, and are just trying to silence the whole incident.  There will be other defense ministers, but the VDV will always exist.

Izvestiya’s Dmitriy Litovkin says his Defense Ministry sources say there were no demands to raze the church.  He claims Serdyukov may have wanted to move it outside the base’s gates to ease access for its parishioners.  He finds the whole situation odd since there are 200 churches on Russian military property, and next year the army will begin training military chaplains.

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Posted in Force Structure, Military Leadership, Serdyukov's Reforms, VDV

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Kremlin Source Denies Serdyukov Resignation

Posted on October 21, 2010 | Leave a comment

According to Moscow News , an unnamed Kremlin source denies Prime Minister Putin asked for Defense Minister Serdyukov’s resignation in the wake of the storm over his harsh words for the chief of the VDV’s Ryazan Higher Command School on 30 September.

The report of Putin asking for Serdyukov to resign originally appeared in Argumeny nedeli.  And it’s being echoed elsewhere.

Titillating, yes, but virtually certainly just a rumor.  Even if Putin’s the power behind President Medvedev’s ceremonial throne, the former president probably wouldn’t try to fire a run-of-the-mill minister, much less Serdyukov, without thoroughly coordinating with Medvedev first. 

The Defense Ministry, like the other power ministries, is part of Putin’s cabinet, but it also reports directly to the President, unlike ordinary ministries. 

Of course, we remember Putin’s the one who put Serdyukov in charge of the Arbat MD in the first place.  It’s at least conceivable he could suggest to Serdyukov that maybe it’s time for him to go.

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Posted in Military Leadership, Serdyukov's Reforms, VDV

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VDV Ain’t No Choir Boys

Posted on October 20, 2010 | Leave a comment

Poking Fun at Serdyukov and VDV (photo: Tden.ru / Leonid Shakhov)

The picture’s worth 1,000 words.  VDV figuring out how to get at Defense Minister Serdyukov:

“Army cursing, it’s his weakest point.”

“Damn if it isn’t.  It’s insulting somehow being abused in civilian.”

Could the VDV really be so offended by a little cussing?  Not likely since they’re pros themselves.  Why are they acting like they haven’t heard and said it all.

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Posted in Military Leadership, Serdyukov's Reforms, VDV

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Serdyukov Reportedly Offends VDV

Posted on October 20, 2010 | 1 comment

It took a couple of weeks for the story to leak out, but it did, largely thanks to Russian bloggers. 

Defense Minister Anatoliy Serdyukov reportedly insulted Colonel Andrey Krasov, chief of the VDV’s Ryazan Higher Command School (now officially a filial of the Combined Arms Academy).  Monday’s Kommersant summed it up well.  Serdyukov flew to Ryazan on 30 September and visited the school’s Seltsy training center.  Getting off his helicopter, he reportedly launched into an obscene and humiliating public tirade against Krasov (who also happens to be a Hero of the Russian Federation) over the small wooden Church of the Prophet Elijah located on the grounds.

Serdyukov ordered the church dismantled, and Colonel Krasov dismissed.  The latter tried to explain that the church was built with money from sponsors, and that it will be used for training chaplains starting next year.  But, according to a retired VDV general’s account, Serdyukov wouldn’t have any of it, saying or telling his minions:

“Don’t give money to this VDV center.  We generally need to cut this school back.  Remove this impudent colonel.”

So Serdyukov comes off badly, and Colonel Krasov sounds as mild as a choir boy.  Who knows if we’ll ever know exactly how it happened.

In any case, the VDV was apparently already seething about the bureaucratic downgrading of its alma mater, and the Union of Russian Airborne Troops has asked President Medvedev and Patriarch Kirill to intercede on behalf of Colonel Krasov.  The Union’s chairman, former VDV Commander and failed putschist, Vladimir Achalov wrote the appeal:

“Anatoliy Serdyukov insulted Colonel Andrey Krasov with unprintable language, degrading his professional and personal worth in front of his subordinates.  The religious senses of the airborne were also insulted for building the church with their own resources.  And this is the fourth military church Anatoliy Serdyukov has ordered dismantled.”

“The insult to Hero of Russia Andrey Krasov is an insult to all defenders of our Motherland.  We reserve the right to act in defense of the honor and dignity of servicemen.”

There’s been no official reaction to all this from the Defense Ministry, but it’s become quite a storm.  Most major print and Internet media have covered it.

Deputy Defense Minister Nikolay Pankov met with Airborne Union representatives on Monday to smooth the whole thing over, according to Kommersant.

A Ryazan church official gave the paper the church’s view that the military has no relationship to the Church of the Prophet Elijah, and said Patriarch Kirill has already met with Medvedev on this, and decided the church won’t come down.

This situation is reminiscent of Serdyukov’s first foray as Defense Minister inspecting the St. Petersburg Nakhimov School in March 2007.  Appalled by its condition, he sacked its chief —  respected former submariner Aleksandr Bukin — on the spot, and was criticized later for mistreating a decorated admiral whose duty post  suffered from a chronic lack of resources.  But Serdyukov seemed to learn from the PR, both good and bad, and we haven’t seen anything similar in public since.

At Seltsy, maybe Serdyukov just lost his self-control.  Maybe there’s sub-text or details here we don’t know.  The whole thing could be overblown to make Serdyukov look bad.  But who’d benefit from that?  The VDV?  The Defense Minister’s really handled that branch of service with kid gloves in the process of his reforms.  Maybe, at its root, it’s a traditional civil-military dust-up — maybe this civilian Defense Minister and uniformed military men don’t understand or respect each other very much.

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Makarov Talks to Duma Defense Committee

Posted on October 19, 2010 | Leave a comment

Nikolay Makarov (photo: Rossiyskaya gazeta)

Last Thursday, General Staff Chief, Army General Nikolay Makarov spoke to a closed session of the Duma’s Defense Committee about the situation in the armed forces.  A few committee members were kind enough to inform the press about some of the discussion.

Rossiyskaya gazeta said it’s no secret the Defense Ministry wants more money in its 2011 budget.  And the generals’ arguments are well-known — the army needs to reequip, relocate, and raise officer pay.  Additional financial means are needed for this.  Makarov didn’t avoid this issue, and he had a lot of supporters.  Deputy committee chairman Yuriy Savenko had this to say on the issue of budget and rearmament:

“Today there isn’t just not enough money for this.  We have to recognize that our military industry has sagged a lot over the last two decades.”

Makarov apparently commented on Bulava, seeing the recent successful launch as opening the way for its quickest acceptance into the Navy arsenal.  But he said first it has to complete three [not two] more tests.  The next won’t come earlier than November, and the first from Yuriy Dolgorukiy possibly before year’s end.

The General Staff Chief talked about the country’s new military-administrative divisions, claiming the reduction to 4 MDs isn’t causing major troop relocations, but rather allowing the army to stand-up additional combined arms, reconnaissance, and airborne brigades on its strategic axes.

He apparently mentioned the introduction of information management systems into the troops is a priority.

Nezavisimaya gazeta’s Viktor Litovkin reports Makarov said Russia will hold just one operational-strategic exercise, Tsentr-2011, next year, and, after it, the focus will be on tactical platoon and company exercises.  Litovkin says the issue isn’t money, but the time it takes to train units from platoon to brigade in what they need to demonstrate in a big exercise.  And training time is too short with one-year soldiers.  He reports the army’s decided to put all officers from new lieutenants to generals through tactical retraining and improvement courses.

KPRF Deputy, Vladimir Komoyedov — former Black Sea Fleet commander — commented a little on what he heard.  He said Makarov mainly touted what’s been achieved the last two years.  Komoyedov said he heard about conventional forces, but not much about strategic ones, and when he asked specifically about naval strategic forces, Makarov’s answer didn’t satisfy him.  Komoyedov spoke to Tverskaya, 13, but he quickly spun off into his own commentary, rather than Makarov’s.

Perhaps the most press went to Makarov’s announcement that the Defense Ministry will go forward with military police units in the armed forces after all.  They’ll reportedly number about 20,000 personnel.  MP sub-units will be present from brigade to military district, and they could be manned by servicemen dismissed in the course of Serdyukov’s reforms.

Finally, Komsomolskaya pravda says Makarov has told it about various changes in the army coming in the next five years.  Some are not all together surprising, but there are new twists on others:

  1. A two-pipe Defense Ministry — military and civilian, with the latter handling money, personnel, and support.
  2. Hired cleaners, maintenance people, and security guards for the barracks.
  3. Military pay via bank cards to make it more difficult for older soldiers to extort money from new conscripts.
  4. Contractees will get 30-35 thousand rubles per month.
  5. Conscription will stay at one year (there are 156,000 men with deferments and 130,000 evaders).
  6. Specialty training time for soldiers needs to be cut from 6 to 2-3 months.
  7. Tsentr-2011 will occur, but other exercises will focus on the company-level and lower.
  8. There will be 8 aviation centers [bases?], but 4 would be ideal.  Air defense aviation will have 2 months on duty, and 2 months at home.
  9. Glavkomaty of services and branches will be cut from 1,000 personnel to about 150 or 200.  Generals’ duties will go out to the new MDs.  All the ‘glavki’ will relocate into the Ground Troop headquarters on the Frunzenskaya embankment.
  10. The Genshtab will keep its hands on strategic submarines, bombers, and the RVSN.
  11. The VDV will not be cut, and will continue to report through the Genshtab.  They are likely to be reinforced with new brigades.
  12. The Navy will get 1-2 nuclear-powered submarines each year.  New aircraft carriers are in development.  The fleet gets 23% of the defense budget, the RVSN 25%.

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Posted in Conscription, Defense Industry, Force Modernization, Training and Exercises, VDV

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BMD-4M Update

Posted on August 18, 2010 | Leave a comment

BMD-4M

An item on pending troop testing of the BMD-4M for VDV . . . .  No, they aren’t in the force yet.  Despite the optimism expressed below, it remains to be seen if the Defense Ministry will actually order the system upon completion of troop testing.  It sounds like the designers and builders have footed the bill — 200 million rubles — for the system’s development thus far.

From this week’s Voyenno-promyshlennyy kuryer:

“Troop testing of the modernized airborne combat vehicle BMD-4M is being conducted in the course of the 98th Airborne-Assault Division’s command-staff exercise (KShU), which will take place from 23 to 28 August near Ivanovo.”

“During the airdrop of military equipment, seven BMD crews will be inside the combat compartment of these vehicles.  Immediately on landing, the crews will move out to fulfill combat missions on unfamiliar terrain in the notional enemy’s rear area.”

“An airdrop of parachute troops and military equipment from aircraft of Military-Transport Aviation will occur in the course of the divisional KShU, which will be directed by VDV Commander General-Lieutenant Vladimir Shamanov.  In all, it’s planned to airdrop 15 pallets with military equipment, including the BMD-4M.”

“After the completion of troop testing of the modernized combat vehicle, development of which Kurganmashzavod, the Volgograd Tractor Plant and other enterprises of the ‘Tractor Plants’ Concern are engaged in, it will be accepted into the arms inventory of the ‘winged infantry’ and included in the state defense order.”

“Development and production of the BMD-4M is being conducted with the agreement of the Defense Ministry at the concern’s expense.  Expenditures on the first test models amounted to nearly 200 million rubles.”

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Posted in Defense Industry, Force Modernization, Training and Exercises, VDV

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VDV Day Recap

Posted on August 3, 2010 | 1 comment

VDV Day (photo: Dmitriy Lebedev / Kommersant)

Just closing the loop . . . there were “no large incidents or violations of public order” during VDV Day celebrations yesterday, according to an MVD spokeswoman who talked to RIA Novosti.  She said 106,000 Russians joined in 525 commemorative activities in 347 cities. 

However, RIA Novosti reported a fight on Manege Square next to the Kremlin late Monday evening.  The incident involved young men from Dagestan and former VDV men.  Two of the latter were hospitalized with head injuries, while a third suffered a gunshot wound.  RIA Novosti reported 20 ‘Dagestanis’ held by police while they investigated to determine identity of the shooter.  No former VDV men were arrested.  

Vesti.ru reported a similar version, adding that OMON troops intervened to stop the fight.  Obshchaya gazeta cited an Interfaks law enforcement source who said quick police action kept things from escalating. 

Other media outlets had different details.  Regions.ru said seven were injured, including three hospitalized–one man with a serious knife wound, and two others with broken ribs and bones.  It said 15 ‘Dagestanis’ were detained.  It also provided two versions of how the fight began.  In one, the ‘Dagestanis’ attacked the VDV veterans; in the other, the VDV men started it by stealing watermelons from a vendor near Samarkandskiy bulvar. 

Novyye izvestiya reported that VDV men burned a black BMW near Krymskiy Val while one of them videotaped the scene.  It concluded that the revelry was down because of the holiday falling on Monday and the heat. 

RIA Novosti called the day peaceful on the whole, with 24 VDV men arrested for minor violations.  Fifteen were treated for injuries, including 9 who were intoxicated.  From the bizarro file, police stopped a drunken man dressed like VDV (but supposedly lacking any relationship to the Airborne Troops) as he tried to drive a tractor across Red Square. 

Newsru.com reported on an incident in Yekaterinburg.  It said a group of three VDV guys got into a scuffle at a ‘non-Russian’ cafe.  In the end, 40-50 VDV brawled with 15-20 men of ‘non-Slavic appearance.’  There were no serious injuries, but the VDV reportedly damaged the premises heavily.

Reporting from Krasnodar, RIA Novosti said local police noted no serious violations of public order, but still had to deal with several obstreperous groups of VDV veterans.  They detained 50 men, and sent 15 others to sobering-up stations.

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Posted in Law, Order, and Discipline, VDV

No One, Except Us!

Posted on July 30, 2010 | Leave a comment

VDV Day Revelry

No service (or branch), except the VDV, generates this kind of media attention for its anniversary.

On 2 August, the VDV will celebrate its 80th birthday, and to mark this nice round number, the holiday will actually be a three-day fiesta running from 31 July.

Also marking the occasion, a new documentary film entitled ‘Landmarks of History, 80 Years of the VDV’ has been released, but, surprisingly, it wasn’t picked up by theaters or television. 

According to Rossiyskaya gazeta, the Moscow city government paid for its production.

VDV Commander, General-Lieutenant Vladimir Shamanov stars in the documentary, providing lots of the commentary, noting that the VDV are already ‘new profile’ since they are permanently ready, mobile, and physically fit.  Including its generals.  Shamanov told press conference he just recently made two jumps.

A VDV press-service representative told Nezavisimaya gazeta:

“Unfortunately, the VDV anniversary film will hardly be shown to a broad central TV audience at present.  For some reason, the central television channels have no particular desire to reflect this day comprehensively, but of course they will show people in striped tee shirts swimming in fountains.”

Ah, yes, the fountains . . . General-Lieutenant Shamanov told the press mobile groups of VDV and Moscow OMON troops would work together to keep airborne guys from bathing in the capital’s fountains on the branch’s birthday.  Interestingly, he had to admit to ITAR-TASS that he was perplexed by an announcement that the police have permitted dips in fountains for several years, having found that trying to prevent them only led to conflicts.  Police also said they would be on-hand to make sure nothing happens to bathers, according to Nakanune.ru.

While sounding reasonable and accommodating, the Moscow OMON Commander also noted that OMON, the GUVD’s 2nd Operational Regiment, and VV troops were ready to “respond to events.”  He expects 5,000 VDV revelers.  About 1,700 police, including 350 OMON (of whom 109 are former VDV themselves), will be on duty, according to Svpressa.ru.  It claimed former and current VDV officers would also help in keeping order.  The OMON Commander told Vesti.ru, “In recent years we’ve come to mutual understanding largely thanks to VDV veterans who now serve in the Moscow police.”

Of course, it doesn’t do for the regime to have two elite silovik forces square off in the capital.

Beyond announcing that the VDV is already fully subscribed when it comes to the ‘new profile,’ Shamanov also made his obligatory statement / promise that the VDV preserves its independence and  role as the reserve of the VGK to reinforce strategic directions.

He commented to ITAR-TASS on the VDV’s capacity for air drops:

“In realizing the measures in the State Program of Armaments – 2020, the VDV will be capable of landing by parachute an airborne or air assault division.  Now the question hinges on the degree of readiness of the existing fleet of Il-76 military-transport aircraft, but also on how these possibilities will be after the realization of the State Program of Armaments, calculated out to 2020.  A month ago we agreed on the draft GPV.  The modernization of the existing fleet of Il-76 aircraft and an increase in their number is in there.  It also provides for the purchase of Russian-Ukrainian An-70 aircraft, refurbishment of existing An-124 aircraft and the construction of 20 new aircraft of this type.”

He continued:

“. . . we also need to use the American experience in using civil aviation aircraft in the interests of the military.  All this would allow us by 2017 to establish the possibility of landing a full airborne or air assault division.”

“. . . it’s possible to solve it even more quickly by a combination, when the first echelon is approximately 30 percent airborne – landing by parachute, the rest by runway.  We could accomplish this task in three months after receiving the order.”

Answering a question about helicopters and air mobility for the VDV, Shamanov said:

“With the General Staff, we’ve defined a concept for establishing an army aviation brigade in the VDV in the future.”

And on army aviation’s transfer to the Air Forces in 2002:

“It would be the right decision to return army aviation to the Ground Troops, as it’s done throughout the world.”

Shamanov also told RIA Novosti 120 men from 104th Parachute Regiment of the 76th Airborne Division will stay in Kyrgyzstan until parliamentary elections are held.

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Extra Kant Security Sent Home

Posted on July 8, 2010 | Leave a comment

Russian press services announced this morning that extra VDV troops sent to Kyrgyzstan last month as security reinforcements returned home yesterday.

The VDV’s spokesman said:

“. . . in connection with the reduced tension in Kyrgyzia [sic] reinforced security sub-units at Kant air base from the 31st Independent Guards Airborne-Assault Brigade returned to their place of permanent deployment [Ulyanovsk] on Wednesday.”

“Three Military-Transport Aviation Il-76 aircraft transported 270 servicemen of the brigade commanded by Dmitriy Glushchenkov.”

This reduced strength battalion deployed to Kyrgyzstan on 13 June after increased fighting between Kyrgyz and ethnic Uzbeks in the country.

According to Newsru.com, the spokesman said two VDV companies deployed earlier will remain to secure Russian facilities and nationals in Kyrgyzstan:

“At present two companies of airborne troops sent to Kyrgyzia according to the decision of the General Staff Chief in April continue to provide security to the military facilities of Kant air base.”

Those companies comprise about 160 men according to reports at the time.

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Posted in Collective Security Treaty Organization, VDV

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More VDV to Kyrgyzstan

Posted on June 14, 2010 | Leave a comment

Escalating violence in southern Kyzgyzstan has prompted Moscow to dispatch more VDV to protect Russian servicemen and their dependents, according to Kremlin and Defense Ministry representatives.

ITAR-TASS reports President Medvedev’s press secretary indicated Medvedev decided to send extra sub-units to reinforce the contingent already located there.  The Defense Ministry said a reduced strength battalion of the VDV’s Ulyanovsk-based 31st Independent Airborne-Assault Brigade arrived in Kyrgyzstan today. 

It will reinforce the security and defense of Russian military facilities there.  Its arrival is also connected with the rotation of other 31st Brigade sub-units out of the country.

ITAR-TASS sources in Russia’s power structures say two reinforced companies numbering more than 300 men have been sent into Kyrgyzstan.  The current contingent of Russians numbered about 160.

The introduction of additional Russian troops comes on the heels of weekend violence in Jalal-Abad, where crowds broke into military units and stole weapons.

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