Three thousand generals, previously dismissed from the Armed Forces, will return to the ranks of the Russian army in accordance with a recent order from Anatoly Serdyukov. However, they will not return to their regiments and brigades where they served, but will occupy the position of "military inspectors" in the country's military enlistment offices with a monthly salary of 50 thousand rubles. However, it is still not clear what the responsibilities of the new "military inspectors" will be, because even before they appeared in the country, there was already a Military Inspectorate of the Ministry of Defense, as well as a so-called group of general military inspectors. The latter organization is headed by the former chief of the General Staff and a loyal ally of the current Minister of Defense Mikhail Moiseev, and in addition to him there are thirty more retired major military leaders of the country.
An interesting fact is that the group of general military inspectors dates back to Soviet times. At that time, this organization was called the "paradise group" because each of its members had their own office in the center of the capital, a whole bunch of assistants and adjutants, and an official car. In 1992, by the decision of Boris Yeltsin, the "paradise group" was disbanded, but as it turned out not for long. Already in 2008, Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov revived this organization, allegedly with the aim of using the experience of the gray-haired generals for the army reform he was carrying out.
In fact, it turned out that in this way Serdyukov made a fictitious and completely controlled organization of former military leaders. Suffice it to recall the sensational story of Serdyukov's visit to the Airborne Forces training center near Ryazan. Then Mikhail Moiseev, like his associates, openly supported the Minister of Defense, although the troops and the press had a completely different opinion on this matter.
But as we can see, the 30-controlled generals of the reserve seemed to Serdyukov not enough, and now three thousand more will appear. The official version of the goals of this decision was announced by the current Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Nikolai Makarov. According to him, the ongoing reform of the Army is aimed at strengthening the combat capability of the Armed Forces, and not at painting fences and removing snow on the parade ground, as it was in the 90s. However, as it turned out, officers with real combat experience in the army are sorely lacking, so it was decided to return the honored veterans from the military pension. Makarov did not explain how reserve generals, sitting in cozy and warm offices at military registration and enlistment offices, will share their combat experience with young officers and soldiers. Also, he did not explain how it happened that the army did not have enough military officers. Maybe because the reason is precisely the reforms of recent years?
The real reason for such a decision, in the opinion of many, lies in Serdyukov's desire to try in this way to strengthen his authority in the troops and the generals "retirees", in his opinion, are perfectly suited for this purpose. Indeed, it is much easier to promise a warm place and a good salary to several thousand reserve generals than to earn real respect in a million-strong army.
