Newly appointed Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov (L), Russian President Vladimir Putin (C) and newly appointed First Deputy Premier Sergei Ivanov, former Defense Minister, attend a meeting of top Defense Ministry officials in the Defense Ministry in Moscow, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2007. President Vladimir Putin on Thursday promoted hawkish Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov to first deputy prime minister in a reshuffle just over a year before presidential elections in which the close Putin ally is seen as a top contender.
Photo: AP
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New Defense Minister Taken for Governor
// Anatoly Serdyukov took over the Defense Ministry
Former head of Russia’s Federal Tax Service Anatoly Serdyukov spent his first working day yesterday as the Minister of Defense. His new subordinates are still shocked by the president’s sudden reshuffle of the cabinet, and refrain from giving any comments. On the contrary, those who received resignation pull no punches: former head of a department at the Defense Ministry Colonel-General Leonid Ivashov yesterday called the appointment of the new minister a “spit in the face” and “humiliation of the army and military men”.
Anatoly Serdyukov began his first day in the Defense Ministry by meeting with Russian Armed Forces Chief of Staff general-colonel Yuri Baluevsky, and then with head of staff Andrei Chobotov.
Serdyukov’s appointment was a big surprise for those working in the Ministry. When his name was first pronounced there around 5 p.m. yesterday, military officials at first thought that Leningrad Region Governor Valery Serdyukov is meant. So, when the new minister appeared in the hall, none of those present could recognize him.
Apparently, the new minister’s first decisions will be new appointments in the Ministry’s central staff. A small staff will be created for Sergei Ivanov, due to his new position of first deputy prime minister, where a great number of Ivanov’s team members will be transferred. Among them will be General Chobotov and his deputy Sergei Rybakov, who now heads the information and public relations department at the Ministry.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Feb. 17, 2007
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