Putin fires Russian military chief President Vladimir Putin fired Russia's top general on Friday, the latest sacking in a major purge of the military and defence ministry, which many experts blame on a behind-the-scenes Kremlin power struggle. The removal of General Nikolai Makarov, chief of the general staff, follows the firing on Tuesday of Anatoly Serdyukov, the defence minister, a result of an investigation into his involvement in illegal real estate deals and disappearing funds at a state company he led until last year. Few experts believed at the time that the corruption investigation against Mr Serdyukov was the real reason for his dismissal and most suspect it was part of some broader political brawl. Those suspicions gained credence on Friday with Gen. Makarov's firing. "The real reason for Serdyukov's ouster has become clear," said Alexei Venediktov, editor-in-chief of Ekho Moskvy radio station, in a blog post on Friday. He, along with several other analysts said that the top brass had lost a row with Russia's powerful "military industrial complex," or VPK, a network of largely state-owned factories that control 25 per cent of Russia's GDP and manufacture most of the military's hardware. The military has criticised the VPK for charging inflated prices for hardware, while the VPK has charged that the defence ministry's initiative to economise by buying hardware abroad amounts to treason. The conflict grew especially acute after Mr Putin announced a new infusion of 23 trillion roubles ($741m) over 10 years for modernising of the country's military in February this year. "Putin in this conflict has taken the side of the VPK," said Mr Venediktov, saying the president made this clear in remarks on Friday when he called on the military to "create a stable working relationship with the leading military production enterprises." In remarks addressed to the incoming chief of the general staff, General Valery Gerasimov, Mr Putin criticised the "often changing demands of the ministry of defence towards industry," according to the Interfax news agency. The outgoing Gen. Makarov had been known as a steadfast critic of Russia's defence industries for charging what he said were inflated prices for substandard military hardware. He became the centre of a political row over the latest generation of the T-90, Russia's main battle tank, in Nov 2011, when he publicly called it "out of date" and said its gun had barely half the range of a comparable Israeli tank, the Merkava. This provoked a showdown with Uralvagonzavod, the state-owned factory that produces the tanks. In a televised talk show a month after the remarks were made, a foreman from the factory challenged Mr Putin: "So why don't you throw out that Serdyukov and Makarov for saying such things and appoint a good minister?" Mr Putin, however, sought to distance himself from the conflict on Friday, saying Gen. Gerasimov had been chosen by Serge Shoigu, the new defence minister. "I think that the minister has picked a suitable candidate and I hope that you will work hard and efficiently," Mr Putin said at a meeting with Mr Shoigu and Gen. Gerasimov.