Putin dismisses Shoigu and appoints civilian as Defense Minister | Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed Defense Minister and longtime ally, Sergei Shoigu, more than two years after the start of the war in Ukraine, the Kremlin reported this Sunday. To his place he pointed Andrey Belousov, a civilian with an economic background who held the position of deputy prime minister.

Putin wants Shoigu, Defense Minister since 2012, to now occupy the position of secretary of the Russian Security Council, replacing Nikolai Patrushev, and also have responsibilities in the military-industrial complex, Kremlin spokesman Dmitri said. Peskov.

Valery Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, will remain in his post, as will Sergey Lavrov, the country’s veteran Foreign Minister, Peskov said.

The Russian President proposed Andrei Belousov, Deputy Prime Minister of Russia since 2020, as the new Minister of Defense. Belousov was Minister of Economic Development during Dmitri Medvedev’s presidency and, between 2013 and 2020, he was Vladimir Putin’s assistant in the economic area.

Peskov told journalists that the move made sense because Russia was approaching a situation similar to that of the Soviet Union in the mid-1980s, when military and police authorities accounted for 7.4% of state expenditure.

According to the Kremlin spokesman, it was vital at that time to ensure that these expenses were aligned with the country’s general interests, which is why Putin now wanted a civilian with an economic background as Minister of Defense.

“He who is most open to innovation is the one who will be victorious on the battlefield,” said Peskov.

The move could also be seen as an attempt by Putin to bring defense spending under greater control to ensure that funds are used effectively. In April, Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov was detained on suspicion of corruption. Serguei Shoigu’s then right-hand man was accused of accepting bribes relating to construction projects at the Ministry of Defense.