The Russian Interior Ministry will cut over 15 percent of staff following a presidential decree, a statement on the ministry’s website announced Tuesday.
The decree, signed by President Vladimir Putin, reduces staff numbers across the ministry by over 163,000.
The decree, which comes into force on Oct. 1, will leave just over 900,000 Interior Ministry staff on the federal budget's payroll, the statement said. This number excludes those responsible for security and the maintenance of ministry buildings.
Staff at the ministry's central apparatus will be reduced by 10 percent, and Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev will see his deputy ministers reduced from seven to six.
In 2015, Putin signed an order reducing the maximum number of staff on the Interior Ministry payroll by 110,000, or about 10 percent.
In April, Putin announced the creation of a National Guard which, according to the body's director, will employ 340,000 personnel, drawn from already existing forces under the command of the Interior Ministry.
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