SAINT PETERSBURG - Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoygu on Friday called for 'serious changes' to the country's military-educational complex.

Speaking at St. Petersburg's Military Academy of Logistics on a trip which also included visits to Western Military District headquarters and the Russian Naval High Command, Shoygu said major structural reforms were planned for Russia's military academy system.

Lietenant-General Vladimir Ivanovski, head of the Military Academy of Logistics, stressed the need to streamline the training of over 8,000 soldiers across 229 sub-disciplines in accordance with the new objectives of the Defence Ministry.

Ivanovski said his goal was to create "a single research institute" held directly accountable to the Russian Deputy Defence Minister.