Duma Proposal Intended to Limit Number of Civilians Getting Rank of General in Siloviki Agencies

Paul Goble

            Staunton, December 7 – Because of traditions extending back to Soviet times, civilians appointed to ministerial or deputy ministerial ranks in the defense ministry are routinely given the rank of general even if they have no military experience. A new proposal in the Duma would restrict that by giving the Russian president the exclusive right to make such appointments.

            Such a measure might win support from regular military officers offended by those without military background getting such high ranks, but it could also both make it more difficult for any new minister to assemble his own team by drawing on associates from earlier civilian agencies and even increase corruption.

            Those are the conclusions of Anatoly Tsyganok, an independent Moscow specialist on military affairs. He suggests further that the new law is not so much intended to limit the number of civilians wearing general’s stars as to legitimate a practice many real officers object to (versia.ru/na-klyuchevye-posty-v-vooruzhyonnyx-silax-postavyat-grazhdanskix-chinovnikov).

            Under existing law, any civilian can be raised to the rank of general if he or she is appointed to a position traditionally occupied by military officers or supervising those in uniform of various kinds.  The draft legislation would limit this practice by requiring a specific presidential decision in each case rather than allowing ministers to act on their own.

            Former defense minster Anatoly Serdyukov did not like being surrounded by generals of this kind, but his successor, the current minister, Sergey Shoygu, has been enthusiastic about wearing a uniform and having his deputies do so as well. As a result, half of the deputy ministers of defense in Russia are generals without a military career.

            Sometimes these outsiders can bring fresh ideas to the ministry, but at the same time, their instant elevation to high military rank can only be offensive to those who have slowly risen through the ranks of the armed forces, expert observers suggest. One thing the new proposal might do is reduce the growth in the number of those with general rank.

            Over the past several years, generals, both from the ranks and especially among former civilians have increased to more than 1300. At present, only four deputy defense minsters have risen from the ranks. The others, a majority, are former civilians who received that rank because they were appointed to that ministry position.