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Opposition to Russian military reforms grows

The Kremlin is grappling with a growing opposition in the military to the most sweeping overhaul of Russia’s armed forces in more than a generation.

Retired generals warned on Tuesday that reforms aimed at modernizing the 1.1 million-member armed forces were destroying Russia’s military capability and called for Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov to be sacked and prosecuted.

The warnings came amid public criticism of the reforms to date and reflect rising anger among uniformed and civilian military officials.

“This isn’t reform. You can’t call the destruction of the army reform,” retired Colonel Vladimir Kvachkov said.

Serdyukov, a former head of the federal tax agency, was appointed defense minister in February last year by then president Vladimir Putin in what was seen as a move to bring order to military finances and combat graft.

He has presided over sometimes painful reorganizations that have drawn increasingly loud grumbling from generals upset with initiatives that include selling off lucrative military land, such as prime real estate in downtown Moscow, and moving the navy headquarters.

Last month, he announced the most detailed changes yet, cutting hundreds of generals, disbanding nine of every 10 army units and abolishing a balky Soviet-era structure that focused on divisions and regiments in favor of smaller brigades. The number of junior officers, such as lieutenants, will be increased by 10,000 to 60,000.

At a news conference in Moscow, several top retired generals agreed reforms were needed but argued that Serdyukov’s plans were destructive.

Retired General Leonid Ivashov, the former head of the defense ministry’s international cooperation department, called Serdyukov “the furniture dealer” — a reference to his past experience running a St Petersburg furniture retailer — and accused him having no authority to carry out the reforms.

He accused Serdyukov of embezzling defense ministry funding and called for criminal investigation of his actions. In the past, he said, Serdyukov had inflicted on the army “more harm than a NATO agent.”

Kvachkov, a former top military intelligence officer, likened Serdyukov to Anatoly Chubais — the Yeltsin-era official who is reviled by most Russians for overseeing the massive privatization of Russian industry in the 1990s. Kvachkov was recently acquitted in connection with an assassination attempt on Chubais.

He also suggested the Kremlin could face open revolt if the reforms are not changed.

“If the current leadership doesn’t want to defend our Motherland, then we ourselves will find a way to defend the Motherland,” he said. He refused to elaborate.

Alexander Konovalov, head of the think tank Institute for Strategic Assessment, praised Serdyukov for working to streamline the balky and inefficient armed forces. But he said the failure to discuss the plans with the broader public could backfire.

“It’s too dangerous to play games with the military,” Konovalov said. “They know how to handle weapons, and they could be tempted to use their skills.”
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