http://russiamil.wordpress.com/2010/...eorganization/
(...)
The goal of all these transformations is to reduce the number of layers of command from sixteen to three, hopefully thereby increasing the speed and accuracy of military decision-making. The idea is that with this new simplified command system and improvements in communication equipment, “the chief of the general staff will be able to call any company or platoon commander” and vice-versa. (...)
Ouch. 16 to 3 is incredible (and I doubt that it's accurate), but a direct comm link from Moscow to a platoon at the Chinese border isn't exactly an improvement in my opinion.