Below is a summary of the main military-related events in Russia, the CIS and neighboring countries on December 15, 2005
* The Defense Ministry and the Ministry of Education should coordinate their R&D strategy to avoid any double financing of defense-related projects, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said at a government meeting
* Speaker of the lower house Boris Gryzlov said Russia's 201st motor rifle division base in Tajikistan guaranteed the border security of the Collective Security Treaty Organization countries, including Russia
* Commenting on military education reforms in Russia, Deputy Defense Minister Nikolai Pankov said:
- graduates of military science departments would be exempt from military service starting in 2008
- military science departments would be abolished in 161 out of 220 universities
- military training centers would be created at 33 universities to train contract officers who agreed to three-year service terms
- the stipend paid to students at military training centers would be five times higher than that given to regular students
- the ministry planned to close 17 military schools, but expand 19 others by 2010
* President of the self-proclaimed republic of Abkhazia Sergei Bagapsh said the Abkhazian military would replace Russian peacekeepers if they were forced to withdraw from the Georgia-Abkhazia conflict zone
