200px, Inspector General of the USSR Ministry of Defense 30th anniversary of East Germany">Republic_Day_(East_German.html" ;"title="Vasily Chuikov (right) at the military parade in honour of the Republic Day (East Germany)">30th anniversary of East Germany in Karl-Marx-Allee, East Berlin, October 7, 1979 The Group of Inspectors General of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union (), colloquially known as the paradise group, was a body of the Soviet Ministry of Defense established in 1958. A

sinecure A sinecure ( or ; from the Latin , 'without', and , 'care') is a position with a salary or otherwise generating income that requires or involves little or no responsibility, labour, or active service. The term originated in the medieval church, ...

position for semi-retired senior officers, the group was eliminated by the 1992 reforms of Marshal Yevgeny Shaposhnikov and its members dismissed. Due to the lack of a mandatory retirement age in the

Soviet Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, also known as the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union, the Red Army (1918–1946) and the Soviet Army (1946–1991), were the armed forces of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republi ...

, elderly senior officers who wished to avoid retiring or transferring to the reserve were assigned to the group, where they enjoyed full privileges of rank for the rest of their lives without regular duties. The group, as established, included inspectors general, who were Marshals of the Soviet Union, Chief marshals, and Admirals of the Fleet of the Soviet Union, inspector-advisors, who were

marshals Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated of ...

, army generals, colonel generals, consultants, who were select lieutenant generals and vice admirals. In 1960, automatic membership in the group was restricted to army generals and colonel generals were only admitted to it for "special merits." Despite this, a significant number of colonel generals became members of the group, as Defense Minister Dmitry Yazov's dismissal of its colonel generals in 1988 halved its numbers. Although the group was theoretically limited to military personnel, two party leaders, Sergey Afanasyev and

Lev Zaykov Lev Nikolaevich Zaikov (Russian:Лев Никола́евич Зайко́в; April 3, 1923 – January 7, 2002) was a Soviet politician and statesman. Member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee, and secretary of the CPSU Central Com ...

were assigned as consultants by 1991. This formed part of the official justification for the disbandment of the group, along with the introduction of a mandatory retirement age of 60 for colonel and army generals in the Russian Armed Forces. The concept of a group of retired senior military officers providing expertise was revived with the establishment of the

Office of Inspectors General The Office of Inspectors General of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation () is a constituent part of the Russian Ministry of Defence and the successor to the Soviet-era Group of Inspectors General. Predecessor The Group of Inspe ...

in the

Russian Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military of Russia. They are organized into three service branches—the Russian Ground Forces, Ground Forces, Russian Navy, Navy, and Russi ...

in 2008.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * {{Cite book, last=Reese, first=Roger R., title=The Soviet Military Experience: A History of the Soviet Army, 1917–1991, publisher=Routledge, year=2000, isbn=0-415-21719-9, location=London Ministry of Defense (Soviet Union)