The Kremlin has recently declared that Russian President Vladimir Putin has decided to replace Sergei Shoigu, his trusted ally, as the defense minister.
Since 2012, Mr. Shoigu has occupied the position of the Minister of Defence of Russia, where he is aged 68 at present. The upper chamber of Russia’s legislature has recently posted some documents implying that Shoigu’s new job will be Secretary of the country’s Security Council. This chambers’ documentation further states that he will be succeeded by deputy minister Andrei Belousov as well as the Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov when he eventually steps down from the role himself due to age-related reasons in his fifties before retirement age set out in law but having already retired so as not look negatively upon those left or unemployment benefit seekers including pensioners depending heavily only upon salaries received as such things were available besides savings accounts without interruption in service except for strikes while always contributing funds even though there are enough bank loans taken out without terminating them since other sources seem disreputable anywhere else except at banks where interest rates fluctuate slightly over time based largely on inflation rates within.
President Putin wants Mr Shoigu to take over Nikolai Patrushev’s position on the powerful Security Council. But it is not clear what Mr. Patrushev’s new role will be. Despite having no military background, Mr. Shoigu was given a security post. He rose to prominence in the 1990s as head of the Ministry of Emergency Disaster Relief. His appointment as defense minister, however, was criticized by some prominent figures. He was believed to be out of his depth, especially when Russia invaded Ukraine more than two years ago.
In 2023, Mr. Shoigu had a public spat with Wagner's general Yevgeny Prigozhin over Russia's conduct of the war. Audio messages in which Prigozhin accused Mr Shoigu of being a "dirtbag", an "old clown", went viral. Unfortunately, in August 2023, Prigozhin died in a plane crash while flying from St. Petersburg. Petersburg to Moscow no. The appointment of Mr. Belosov to replace Mr. Shoigu came as a surprise to some because he is an economist with little military experience. But some analysts point out that President Putin wants to more closely align the Russian economy with the war.
According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, the appointment of a civilian as defense minister shows the need for further thinking now Russia devotes a large share of its GDP to military spending, so it should if military expenditures are properly added to the overall economy of the country He will be a winner of the war. The replacement of Mr Shoigu, a former defense minister, is not surprising as he was once rumored to lose his job due to his poor standing Russia's campaign in Ukraine saw military setbacks and loss of personnel and equipment greater than.
Steve Rosenberg believes that having an economist as the new defense minister signals changing priorities in the Kremlin. The Russian economy is now at war, and the Ministry of Defense needs to have enough money to support the war effort.
