First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov, who was the previous defense minister, said in September 2006 that Russia would deploy two mountain brigades in the Caucasus, near the border with Georgia.
Serdyukov said that only contract officers and sergeants, who number 4,566, would serve in the brigades.
President Vladimir Putin said Monday the mountain brigades would help provide security during the 2014 Winter Olympics, should the Games be held in Sochi.
Sochi has been short-listed as a host city for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games, along with Austria's Salzburg and South Korea's PyeongChang.
The city previously bid for the 1998 and 2002 Winter Olympics, but was rejected largely due to its poor-quality Soviet-era infrastructure. The winner of the bid will be announced in July 2007 in Guatemala City.
