MOSCOW, June 8 (AVN) - Major General Alexander Studenikin, commander of the 2nd guard Taman division, will be promoted in the near future, a spokesman for the Moscow military district headquarters told the Military News Agency on Friday.
Documents for Studenikin's appointment to the post of 20th general army commander are being prepared, the spokesman said.
Studenikin has been division commander for a bit more than a year. He arrived in the district from Kamchatka where he led the 22nd motorised rifle brigade of the North-eastern troops and forces group after graduation from the General Staff Academy in 1998.
According to the spokesman, Studenikin failed to achieve his aim in the division which was to establish basic military order. The Moscow military district council considered the division to be lagging behind after the winter training period. Colonel General Nikolai Makarov, commander of the district, visited the division several times in May to control elimination of the exposed shortcomings.
According to data obtained by the Agency, discipline problems have existed in the division for a long time. Studenikin's predecessor Colonel Grigory Laktionov was appointed Kostroma region military commissioner even without promotion to rank of major general that is envisaged by military regulations.
Studenikin's new appointment is rumoured to happen thanks to his friendly relations with Chief-of-Staff Anatoly Kvashnin. Studenikin served under Kvashnin's command in the North Caucasus military district.
The general is supposed to be replaced by Colonel Andrei Glushchenko, who graduated from the General Staff Academy in 2000. Glushchenko has distinguished himself while commanding the 10th tank division.