political department, pursued a policy of non-partisanship and advocated the revival of the traditions of the Russian Army in the ranks of the militia. One such reform was the order on humane treatment of prisoners. Following Strelkov's resignation, Ivanov oversaw the transition of the DPR forces from a militia force into a professional regular Armed Forces. Under the order of the Minister of Defense V.P. Kononov, Ivanov was promoted to Deputy Chief of the Main Staff of the Armed Forces of the DPR for combat units. Though Ivanov and the ROVS volunteers made some progress in their reforms within the DPR militia for a while, Prime Minister Alexander Zakharchenko shut down the program. As a result Ivanov filed a letter of resignation that cited the "changed political situation in the DPR". Together with a group of officers both members of the ROVS volunteer detachment and those who decide to go with the ROVS detachment, withdrew from the Donetsk People's Republic and returned to mainland Russia. Upon his return to the Russian Federation, Ivanov declared that a coup had taken place within the Donetsk People's Republic starting with the removal Igor Strelkov and that since Strelkov’s removal, the ROVS cannot condone the policies of the new DPR administration. Since then, the ROVS have been organizing humanitarian aid programs in Donbass for those affected by the war including assistance to wounded militias as well as refugees. Organizational structure and membership Before World War II, the ROVS was divided into departments (), based on regions or/and countries: Department I — Great Britain, Netherlands, Denmark, Egypt, Spain, Italy, Norway, Iran, Poland, Syria, Finland, France and its colonies, Switzerland, Sweden; Department II — Austria, Hungary, Germany, Free City of Danzig, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia; Department III — Bulgaria, Turkey; Department IV — Greece, Romania, Yugoslavia; Department V — Belgium; Department VI — Czechoslovakia; Far-Eastern Department with headquarters in Harbin; Short-lived Mongolian Department in Mongolia, later in Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang; North-American Department; Departments in Australia and New Zealand; South-American Department. According to the data contained in the declassified UDBA documents of 1955, the ROVS had in 1934 a global membership that totaled 400,000 people, which included 206,000 people in Europe, 175,000 in the Far East and 25,000 in America. List of chairmen and commanders General Pyotr Wrangel (1924–1928) (as the commander of the Russian Army) Grand Duke General Nikolai Nikolaevich Romanov (1924–1929) (as the supreme commander