The 2008 Russian military reform (Russian: 2008 Реформа Вооружённых сил России), often referred to as the Serdyukov reform (Russian: Реформа Сердюкова) after its originator, Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, was a major structural reorganisation of the Russian Armed Forces that began in 2009.
Significant reforms of the Russian military were announced in October 2008 under Serdyukov and structural reorganisation began in early 2009. The aims of the reform were to reorganise the structure and the chain of command in the Russian Army and to reduce it in size.
Elements of the reforms announced in October 2008 included:
There had previously been several reform attempts such as the 1997 plan under defence minister Igor Sergeyev and the 2003 programme of President Vladimir Putin ('Urgent Tasks for the Development of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation'), the latter of which was very similar to the 2008 programme, as it emphasised the need for reductions in personnel strength, a gradual decrease in the use of conscripts in favour of professional soldiers, the creation of a professional NCO corps and drastic changes to officer training and education. The 2003 program moved at a very slow pace, mainly due to the unwillingness of the military to reform.[1]
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