Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin appointed Anatoly Serdyukov, the director of the Federal Tax Service since 2004, as Russia's new defense minister. Since then, Serdyukov has kept a low profile, despite a recent visit to China to promote military cooperation and Russian arms sales with Beijing. Serdyukov was a surprising choice. Apart from serving his obligatory two years of military service after graduation from the Leningrad Institute of Commerce in 1984, Serdyukov never worked in the defense community. He has now become the first genuine civilian to head the Russian Ministry of Defense. His Russian and Soviet predecessors had all served as officers in the military or intelligence services. Serdyukov's civilian background may prove burdensome in an agency that has traditionally been led by ministers with considerable professional military experience. Several former military officers have attacked Serdyukov's appointment on the grounds that he lacks adequate knowledge of military affairs. In an article entitled, "Anyone Can Become a Minister Here," Russian defense analyst and retired military officer Alexander Golts wrote that Serdyukov "had spent more time in his career working in a furniture store than doing anything else and doesn't understand one darn thing about military affairs."
New Defense Minister Faces Old Challenges in Revamping Russia’s Military
