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In 2007 Vladimir Popovkin, then commander of the Russian Space Forces, said that Gabala, together with Balkhash in Kazakhstan and the two stations in Ukraine, cannot be relied upon as Russia cannot be sure it will have access to them in periods of international tension and war.
In 2004 he was promoted to be First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Russian Space Forces and after undertaking a PhD in military sciences he became the commander of Plesetsk Cosmodrome in 2007.
In 2003 he became Deputy Chief of Staff of the Russian Space Forces and then returned to the Titov Main Test and Space Systems Control Centre as Chief of Staff from 2004 to 2007, and Commander from 2007 to 2011.