Voice of America has caught me unprepared with questions about the Russian line in the conflict around Syria, and a Russian business-oriented Internet/radio journal BFM.ru interrogated me about the results and prospects of the military reform.
The interview with the VoA is accessible here (http://www.voanews.com/russian/news/US-RUSSIA-M-EAST-136707823.html), and I was very critical about the plan to send the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov from the Northern Fleet with a 'friendly visit' to Syria, which constitutes a serious interference in the on-going civil war.
The interview with the BFM.ru is accessible here (http://www.bfm.ru/articles/2012/01/02/2011-god-oboronka-protiv-serdjukova.html), and I focused particularly on the conflict between Defense Minister Serdyukov and the corporations of the defense industry. The appointment of Dmitry Rogozing as a deputy prime minister in charge of the military-industrial complex will hardly help in mitigating this conflict.
