MOSCOW, Feb. 19 (UPI) -- Russia's new defense minister vowed on Sunday to continue the policies of his predecessor.
Russian President Vladimir Putin shocked his country Thursday by replacing veteran and widely respected Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov with the almost unknown Anatoly Serdyukov, who has headed Russia's Federal Tax Service for the past three years.
The move was no demotion for Ivanov, who was promoted to the post of first deputy prime minister. Mmong his new responsibilities is Russia's cutting edge high-tech industries. But it raised speculation about whether Putin wanted to change policy priorities on defense and military industries.
However, Serdyukov, 45, pledged Sunday that he would seek to continue the policies and priorities that Ivanov fought for as defense minister. He vowed to push ahead with plans to cut down the length of time Russia's conscript soldiers had to serve, continue Ivanov's moves towards a streamlined, professional, all-volunteer army on the U.S. and British models, and seek to improve the long-miserable living conditions of Russian soldiers.
"First of all, this (continuation of ivanov's priorities) applies to the social sphere -- the provision of servicemen with housing, combat training, modernization of the Armed Forces, the increase of the number of troops serving on contract and the transition to a 12-month draft from Jan. 1, 2008," Serdyukov said, according to a report carried by the RIA Novosti news agency.
