23.01.2008
Head Commander of the Russian Armed Forces, Yuri Baluevskii, says there is no need for the moving of the Navy headquarters from Moscow to Sankt Petersburg. He is joint by a number of other high-ranking Russian defence officials.
Mr. Baluevskii’s statement is likely to stirs further disturbances in the Armed Forces. A number of other prominent military representatives have already expressed strong opposition to the moving plans.
According to plans, the first group of Navy officers will be moved from Moscow to Sankt Petersburg in late 2009. They will be followed by the whole Navy apparatus.
The Russian Defence Ministry argues that the moving will make the Navy more efficient and place the officials in the same city as the Navy teaching institutions and other Navy facilities.
The discontent Navy officials, among them former fleet leaders Vladimir Igor Kasatonov and Vyacheslav Popov, on their hand argue however that the moving will be far too expensive and possibly hamper other planned fleet investments. They also say that the moving will disrupt command lines.
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