[DeadlyDaring]

May 11, 2007
Russian Air Force Commander Fired
Russian Air Force chief Vladimir Mikhailov has been dismissed from his post, a source the Defense Ministry said Thursday. This is the second shakeup in top military ranks after the appointment of Anatoly Serdyukov as Defense Minister. Experts say that the longtime commander was dismissed because his activities did little to help revamp the Air Force.
General Vladimir Mikhailov, 63, was replaced by one of his deputies, Colonel General Alexander Zelin, the Interfax news agency reported quoting an unidentified source in the Defense Ministry. Lieutenant General Igor Khvorov has taken over as head of the Main Staff from Colonel General Boris Cheltsov who has also been dismissed. Lieutenant General Khvorov formerly served as the commander of long-range aviation.

The Defense Ministry’s press service would not comment the reports.

Since Gen. Mikhailov turned 60, the maximum age for active-duty senior commanders, President Putin has extended his service three times. “But the age has apparently become the main reason for his dismissal,” a source in the Defense Ministry told Kommersant.

The shakeup in the Air Force follows the recent surprise appointment of former Tax Service head Anatoly Serdyukov as the country’s Defense Ministry.

A Kommersant source in the Russian military industry suggested that Vladimir Mikhail was dismissed after he had evidently failed to overcome a slump in the Air Force and step efforts to modernize the troops.