Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed appointing a new Russian defence minister after suddenly sacking the man who served in the role for more than decade.
Andrei Belousov is expected to come into the role to replace of Sergei Shoigu, a key figure in the nation's invasion of Ukraine two years ago. The move, a significant shake up given that Shoigu has been defense minister since 2012, is part of a reshuffle as Putin starts his fifth term as president.
Shoigu has faced some criticism within Russia amid a number of failures in the long and unpopular war against their European neighbor.
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Sergei Shoigu has faced criticism during Russia's pro-longed and unpopular invasion of its neighbor, Ukraine, which has entered a third year (Getty Images)Shoigu was broadly criticized for Russian military’s setbacks in the early stage of the fighting in Ukraine. He faced scathing attacks from mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, whose Wagner Group marched on Moscow nearly a year ago to demand the ouster of Shoigu and the chief of the General Staff, General Valery Gerasimov. The rebellion was quickly ended, but signaled growing unrest among Russia's military and para-military regarding the war.
After Prigozhin’s death in a suspicious plane crash two months after the rebellion - widely seen as the Kremlin’s revenge - Shoigu appeared to shore up his position. But Ivanov’s arrest, interpreted by many as part of Kremlin’s political infighting, again exposed Shoigu’s vulnerability once more.
Officially, Belousov must be approved by the Russian upper house, known as the Federation Council, but there is unlikely to be opposition in Putin-controlled Russia.
Shoigu is set to take up a new role as the head of Russia’s security council, replacing current security council head Nikolai Patrushev.
So who is Shoigu’s replacement?
Who is Andrey Belousov?
Belousov, 65, is the new Russian defence minister. He takes up the role despite no previous military experience or having worked in national security.
An economist, Belousov’s most prominent role was acting-prime minister for three weeks when the PM Mikhail Mishustin had Covid in 2020. Mishustin was reappointed the country’s prime minister on Friday.
The choice of Belousov may be considered as odd by some, due to his lack of military experience, and the appointment may mean Putin aims to take a closer personal role in war tactics.
But Russian spending has ballooned since the war began and the country's economy pivoted to a war footing. The Financial Times reported in November last year that the Russian finance ministry expected spending to increase that year by 12 percent. This is despite Putin promising in 2018 to get Russia into the top five global economies.
Russian spending has ballooned since the war began, putting the country in dire financial straights (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)Analysts say now that Putin has secured another six years in power, the government could take the unpopular steps of raising taxes to fund the war and pressure more men to join the military.
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According to the Moscow Times, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the “Defence Ministry must be absolutely open to innovation.”
Peskov also alluded to Belousov’s economics background. He said that Russian defense must look at “to introduce advanced ideas and to create conditions for economic competitiveness - that’s why the president chose the candidacy of Andrei Removich Belousov.”
Shake up at the Kremlin
Shoigu, hailing from the remote Tuva region, was for years Putin’s vacation partner in Siberia. Earlier, he served as longtime emergencies minister and was a member of Putin’s government well before his pivot to becoming a Western pariah.
The Kremlin tonight sought to stress that Shoigu remained pivotal to the war, and will continue to fulfill some military functions.
Shoigu’s deputy Timur Ivanov was recently arrested on corruption charges. Ivanov, who served as deputy defence minister in charge of massive military construction projects, was arrested on bribery charges and was ordered to stay in custody pending official investigation.
The arrest of Ivanov was widely interpreted as an attack on Shoigu and a possible precursor of his dismissal despite his close personal ties with Putin.
Putin proposed appointing Boris Kovalchuk to become chairman of the Accounts Chamber. His oligarch father, Yury, 72, is seen as Putin’s “wallet”.
Long time foreign minister Sergei Lavrov will remain in place despite speculation that the veteran diplomat, now 74, had begged Putin to pension him.
Patrushev, meanwhile, is seen as a key architect of a war in which so far 450,000 Russians have been killed or maimed. Perhaps Putin’s closest crony, he will be given a mysterious new job in the next several days.
Meanwhile Patrushev’s son Dmitry, 46, becomes deputy premier combined with his previous role as agriculture minister.
It is Putin’s biggest shake-up in years but he has kept Sergey Naryshkin, as director of the SVR Foreign Intelligence Service, and Alexander Bortnikov, as head of the FSB - the two key security roles in his regime. Putin’s spokesman said Gerasimov, would remain at the helm.
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