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Putin to split space and missile forces Posted: January 26, 2001 Russian President Vladimir Putin decided to separate military space units from their subordination to the Strategic Missile Forces, RVSN, sources in Moscow said. Putin announced his intention to restructure RVSN during a closed-door meeting of the security council this week. According to the Russian press, all space and space defense units of the Ministry of Defense will form a separate type of armed forces. For many months, the upcoming reform of RVSN has been a source of major disagreement within Russian Ministry of Defense. Last year, Chief of Staff of armed forces Anatoly Kvashnin, proposed to eliminate RVSN altogether, by absorbing it into the Air Force. Kvashnin's plan also called for drastic reduction of the Russian strategic missile fleet. The funds saved in the process could be directed to the modernization of the conventional armed forces, facing new challenges of the post-Cold War era, such as separatist movement in Chechnya. The Minister of Defense Igor Sergeev, a former Chief of RVSN, strongly opposed the move. Back in 1997, during Yeltsin administration, Igor Sergeev instrumented a merger between RVSN and Military Space Forces, VKS. The change promised to save money by eliminating redundant services within the space forces. Since then, RVSN was widely blamed for neglecting the country's military space assets. RVSN reportedly funneled most funds received from the involvement of its space units into commercial space launches to the modernization of its strategic missile fleet. In the meantime, Russian space infrastructure continued to decline. The decision to separate space units from RVSN signifies a major defeat for Minister of Defense Igor Sergeev. According to the Russian press, Sergeev was not even present at the meeting of the security council, where Putin announced the upcoming changes within RVSN. General Perminov to head space forces Posted: 2001 March 29; Updated: June 1 President Vladimir Putin appointed a new chief of the Military Space Forces in the course of sweeping changes in the Russian government announced on Wednesday, March 28. Colonel General Anatoly Perminov previously with Strategic Missile Forces (RVSN) will head Military Space Forces (VKS), which were reestablished by Putin administration after they had been absorbed by RVSN in mid-1990s. The VKS officially started operations on June 1, 2001. |
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