BBC News, 6
November 2012
Related
Stories
Mr Serdyukov had been defence minister for six years |
Russian
President Vladimir Putin has dismissed the defence minister after his ministry
was caught up in a corruption scandal.
Anatoly
Serdyukov has been replaced with a former emergencies minister and loyal ally
to Mr Putin, Sergei Shoigu.
Russia's
top investigative agency is investigating the sale of ministry assets at prices
below market value.
Mr Putin
said he had removed Mr Serdyukov to create "conditions for an objective
investigation".
Last month,
Russian investigators raided the offices of a state-controlled military
contractor and began investigating the company on suspicion that it had sold
assets to commercial firms at a loss of nearly three billion roubles ($100m;
£62.5m).
Oboronservice's
activities include servicing military aircraft and arms and constructing
military facilities.
Mr
Serdyukov was a furniture store executive and head of the Russian tax service
before being appointed defence minister in 2007.
The BBC's
Steve Rosenberg, in Moscow, says that in the six years that Mr Serdyukov had
been minister he had tried to reform Russia's outdated armed forces by cutting
costs and personnel and by boosting efficiency.
But, our
correspondent adds, he had made enemies along the way, and fell out with his
own father-in-law, the former deputy prime minister Viktor Zubkov.
He may now
face questioning as part of the fraud investigation.
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Gen
Gerasimov (right) was assigned to duties by President Putin
in the Kremlin
|
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