Or who will answer for what?
On Tuesday, Kommersant and Rossiyskaya gazeta described, even if they can’t explain, Deputy Defense Minister portfolio changes. The shuffling began in early July, when Grigoriy Naginskiy was ‘freed’ from his responsibilities as Chief of Housing and Construction but remained a Deputy Defense Minister.
According to a decree known, but not published, Medvedev removed General-Colonel Dmitriy Bulgakov from his post as Chief of Rear Services, while retaining him as a Deputy Defense Minister without specific duties. It’s widely believed, of course, Bulgakov has taken charge of a new Material-Technical Support (MTO) empire that will encompass not only logistics but also arms and equipment supplies.
For his part, Defense Ministry Apparatus Chief Mikhail Mokretsov formally became a Deputy Defense Minister (no longer holding just informal ‘Deputy Minister status’).
Kommersant points out there are still eight Deputy Ministers (six are civilians). A Defense Ministry source told the paper, however, that Bulgakov might be civilianized. And his MTO organization will be part of the Defense Ministry’s ‘civilian component’ as opposed to its ‘military component.’ Kommersant says the ‘military component’ (planning and operational troop command and control) will just be the General Staff when the current Defense Ministry reorganization is complete.
Bulgakov has apparently indicated that MTO will have a planning and coordination department, a resource and transportation support department, Main Automotive-Armor Directorate (GABTU), and also repair-refurbishment and metrological directorates. As announced elsewhere, ten new MTO brigades are to be established in the four new OSKs. Recall that, in the same presidential decree on Naginskiy, Bulgakov’s rear services chief of staff Sergey Zhirov became Chief of the Planning and Coordination Department (read staff).
One should really look at Mil.ru’s ‘Leadership Structure’ page here. In it, you’ll see Vera Chistova retains her clear responsibility for finance-economic work. Bulgakov’s biography notes he became simply Deputy Defense Minister in July. Naginskiy’s contains no similar notation though it could. Then comes the oft-forgotten Dmitriy Chushkin who followed Defense Minister Serdyukov from the Federal Tax Service in late 2008. He has no portfolio spelled out in his title, but his bio reads:
“Responsible for forming and conducting the Defense Ministry’s united military-technical policy in the information and telecommunications technology area which aims to increase the effectiveness of the command and control system, as well as supporting and developing its foundations.”
Mokretsov’s bio has a note that he added Deputy Defense Minister to his title in July.
The ultimate plan behind these moves isn’t clear yet. But it does seem to go back to late June’s replacement of Kolmakov with Popovkin in one of the Defense Ministry’s two First Deputy slots. More support functions were and are being consolidated under civilians, while purely military training, planning, and operations may now be more solidly under General Staff Chief, First Deputy Defense Minister Nikolay Makarov.
Russian Defense Policy 