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Russian Nuclear Weapons: Past, Present, and Future

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Implementation.<br />

Chief of the General Staff (CGS) Army-General<br />

Nikolai Makarov, a critical supportive figure in the<br />

reform, noted in December 2008 that to oversee <strong>and</strong><br />

monitor the implementation of the reform, the General<br />

Staff sent its representatives into line units. Their<br />

sole task was to report on any instances of individuals<br />

seeking to sabotage the reform. 21 During 2009, the<br />

structural reforms planned as part of Serdyukov’s<br />

reforms were largely successful, in what by any st<strong>and</strong>ard<br />

represented a significant organizational achievement.<br />

In the process the mass mobilization system,<br />

cadres, <strong>and</strong> divisions (apart from the VDV) all passed<br />

quietly into history. Officer downsizing proved more<br />

complex, with various figures cited at different times<br />

as it progressed. However, by late 2009, officially, 85<br />

permanent readiness brigades had been formed as<br />

well <strong>and</strong> the new three-tiered comm<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> control<br />

system was in place. Medical staff lost 10,000 officer<br />

posts <strong>and</strong> 22 military hospitals were closed. 22 Additionally,<br />

80 percent of all lawyers were dismissed, <strong>and</strong><br />

only 20 officer positions in military media organizations<br />

remained—preserving those working for the official<br />

defense ministry publication, Krasnaya Zvezda.<br />

Military educational institutions were also earmarked<br />

for reduction from 65 to 10; three military educational<br />

centers, six academies, <strong>and</strong> one military university<br />

(streamlining the General Staff Academy), which<br />

was needed to serve a new role based on filling the<br />

brigades with effective comm<strong>and</strong>ers <strong>and</strong> promoting<br />

efficiency <strong>and</strong> higher st<strong>and</strong>ards in these institutions.<br />

Deputy Defense Minister Army-General Nikolay Pankov<br />

said most of the previous 65 institutions were<br />

only 60-70 percent full, <strong>and</strong> consequently they were<br />

38

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