More than a month has passed since the change of defense ministers took place in Russia. Sergei Shoigu replaced Anatoly Serdyukov and decided to carry out serious personnel changes in the leadership of both the entire ministry and in the format of its individual departments. Information is regularly received that the so-called “Serdyukov's entourage” is gradually disappearing into history, and instead of the “military professionals” who have managed to fill their teeth with female managers, who, in fact, have nothing to do with the Russian army, they occupy leading positions, I would like to believe, worthy people. I want to believe…
No … Not that all the people from the ex-minister's entourage were completely unworthy, but it just so happened that the ladies' contingent acted in a way that could hardly be called productive. Moreover, actions of this nature were manifested in literally all industries with which the main military department came into contact in one way or another: from military medicine and education to the sale of property of the Ministry of Defense and even a soldier's "grub".
The latest reports from the personnel "fronts" of the Ministry of Defense are as follows.
The commander of the Russian Airborne Forces, General Shamanov, will remain at his post. Many readers will say: well, this is really news, because Shamanov was not going to leave his post anywhere. Vladimir Anatolyevich himself, perhaps, was not going to leave, but with the former Minister of Defense he often had practically open conflicts, which led to the fact that Shamanov was planned to be transferred to another area of work - to the Joint Headquarters of the CSTO. Theories were put forward that it was Anatoly Serdyukov who decided to send the uncompromising general away from the Ministry of Defense in order to demonstrate his own ability to dispose of the fate of the commanders as he pleases. Perhaps the command of the Airborne Forces was planning to transfer into the hands of another lover of fashionable hairstyles, apartments in the center of Moscow and diamonds purchased with funds of dubious origin. After the scandalous stories revealed in the main military department, it is already difficult to be surprised at anything …
It is difficult to say whether there was a real conflict between Shamanov and Serdyukov, which (the conflict) gave rise to talk about the "excommunication" of the general from the Ministry of Defense, or is it a portion of criticism after the ex-minister who left his post, is difficult to say. Yes, in principle, and there is no need, because a source in the Ministry of Defense says that Shamanov will not transfer to the CSTO. In general, the combat general remains in the Airborne Forces, and this fact cannot but rejoice.
But if in the Airborne Forces with the leadership everything remained the same, then on the other flank of the activities of the Ministry of Defense - in Voentorg, the leadership has changed. Another “ministerial lady”, Marina Lopatina, lost her post. The decision to dismiss was made personally by Sergei Shoigu. At least, this is what MP Khinshtein thinks. Instead of the ex-manager, Vladimir Pavlov will take the post of the general director of Voentorg. This information is provided by the head of the Department of Property Relations, Mr. Kurakin.
When asked why they decided to remove Lopatina from his post, Andrei Lugovoi, a deputy from the LDPR faction in the State Duma, answers quite specifically. The deputy states that Lopatina was directly involved in corruption schemes related to the provision of food to Russian servicemen. Lugovoi, not hesitating to speak, declares: "While we are sitting here, I am not afraid to say this, 50 billion rubles are being felled at Voentorg."
Apparently, the all-Russian tendency towards disclosures, which often end with an endless grind of information about corruption, but do not lead to real criminal punishment of the perpetrators, has now reached the State Duma.
Lugovoi says that Voentorg worked according to the scheme of lack of competition in terms of the provision of outsourcing services to the army, which caused irreparable damage and even undermined the defense capability.
As usual, so far no evidence of the fact of embezzlement has been provided, which, in principle, fits into the indicated trend of a very specific fight against corruption in Russia. The tendency today is approximately the following: a person or a group of people appears who spread very loud information about the facts of corruption. Further, this information is disseminated through the media. A grandiose social wave is rising with calls to "shoot everyone," "imprison", or "hang them for this or that place." Investigators report that the facts are being verified. Some politicians claim that such facts have been known for many years. And then a wave of popular anger hits such a wall as the unexpectedly manifested innocence of the accused … Like, people are not guilty, and that's it …
In such a situation, you can feel yourself in broad daylight falling into a large flimsy slurry, because it turns out that it seems like people were slandered, and we fell for this bait. And immediately after that, we can still be presented with such a trick: they say, one does not need to be so naive to believe all those who declare the facts of corruption. Look - already the father of Evgenia Vasilyeva showed up. It turns out that he is so rich that he can buy up multimillion-dollar apartments and other goods, and his daughter worked for mere pennies and until the age of 33 was on his father's support. Something like this … We are kind of called on: friends, repent that you cast a shadow over the fence, slandered the head of Oboronservis and the chief head of the department for nothing, who had never heard of the understatement of the "non-core" real estate at the moment selling it to companies affiliated with Oboronservice.
It turns out that the deputy Lugovoi cannot be trusted either. And then how can it turn out like this: believe him, and then the same song: investigators in the apartment of the ex-chief of Voentorg, interrogations, arrests, and then the appearance on the forefront of a certain person who will tell that JSC Voentorg worked under the fiercest pressure of competition, and that the liberal democrat Andrei Lugovoi seriously confused something …
In general, the fight against corruption is moving into the phase of the Brazilian soap opera, where at the end everyone will definitely be happy, get married, have children and appear in the final shot with snow-white smiles. Someone will get an inevitable amnesty, someone will be released right in the courtroom, and someone will receive a suspended sentence, after which they will be in a position no less lucrative than the one they held before the corruption scandal.
In general, the personnel policy of the Ministry of Defense is changing. Question: which way? If this is the case when the sum does not change from a change in the places of the terms, then it becomes bitter and sad. That is why I want to get unambiguous answers neither from Andrei Lugovoi, nor from Alexander Khinshtein, nor even from Nikolai Vasiliev, who loves his daughter, but answers from the investigation: so who the hell is to blame for the stalling of the army reform? Or slipping is also part of the plan, which someone mistakenly confused with corruption cases …
