Russia yesterday discharged its top missile official, two weeks after its troubled Bulava ballistic missile program sustained another setback, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, Aug. 3).
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev relieved Col. Gen. Nikolai Solovtsov of his post as chief of the strategic missile forces, replacing him with Lt. Gen. Andrei Shvaichenko, a deputy at the division.
"With this decree, Nikolai Solovstov is freed from his duties as a head of his duties as head of the missile forces and discharged from military service," according to a statement from the Kremlin.
A source told Interfax that Solovstov had requested that he be released from the military, citing his age, which had exceeded the customary retirement threshold age of 60 for Russian military personnel. Solovstov turned 60 several months ago, but the government extended his service for another year.
Solovtsov is the second high-profile Russian missile official to step down following a failed test of the sea-based, long-range Bulava missile, which is designed to carry nuclear warheads; Yuri Solomonov resigned late last month as head of the organization leading the missile design effort.
The test, which saw the Bulava explode above the White Sea 30 seconds into flight on July 16, was the missile's sixth failure in 11 attempts (Agence France-Presse/Google News, Aug. 3).
Some Russian analysts reject any suggestions of a causal link between the failed test and Solovtsov's discharge, RIA Novosti reported.
Newspaper pundit Pavel Felgenghauer said it was perfectly plausible that Solovtsov retired because of his age after leading the strategic missile forces for eight years. The Bulava fell within the dominion of the Russian navy, Felgenghauer noted, not the strategic missile forces.
ViKtor Baranets, another pundit, indicated the dismissal more likely was related to Solovtsov's differences with the Kremlin over its strategic arms reduction negotiations with the United States. Solovtsov was skeptical of reducing Russia's deployed nuclear arsenal past 1,500 warheads, which looks to be the low end of the next arms-reduction treaty between the two nations. Baranets speculated that Moscow might favor an official who was less stringently opposed to further arms reduction and more "blindly loyal to the Kremlin" (RIA Novosti, Aug. 3).