MOSCOW, JULY 22, RIA NOVOSTI'S ALEXANDRA AKAYEVA - The Russian government is perplexed by a "free interpretation" of the presidential decree "On Top Priority Measures Needed to Reform the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and Develop Their Structure" published in yesterday's article of Segodnya under the title "General Manilov Reorganizers Army", head of the department for information and culture under the government Igor Shabdurassulov told a briefing today.

He called "unreasonable and untrue" suppositions of the article author Pavel Phelgelgauzer that the decree had been drafted by one of the groups of highly-placed military from the Defence ministry headed by the First Deputy Head of the General Staff Colonel-General Valery Manilov to lobby their narrow interests. In particular, the author stated that the merger of Military Space Force and Strategic Missile Force and addition to them of the Rocket and Space Defence Force is being done "to be able to re-channel big money, rather than bring any real advantages to Russia". According to Shabdurassulov, "the motives which made the author to interpret the preparations for the decree and the document itself are not clear at all".

---------------------

Johnson's Russia List

#1073

22 July 1997

djohnson@cdi.org