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This Sunday, a few days after starting his fifth term, the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin surprised to replace his defense minister Sergei Shoigu by Andrey Belousov, a trusted economist. Officially, the Kremlin argued that the country’s increased military spending and the need for “innovation” had to do with the decision.
Shoigu68 years old, He was Minister of Defense since 2012 and a man of extreme confidence in put on.
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But the departure of Shoigu of the portfolio Defense This does not mean that the general completely abandons the spheres of power, since he was appointed secretary of the security advice From Russia. Furthermore, he will be Putin’s deputy on the Russian Military-Industrial Commission.
At the security adviceShoigu will replace Nikolai Patrushevconsidered one of the most influential men in the country.
Through a press conference, Putin’s spokesman Dmitri Peskovtried to explain the reasons that led to the Shoigu’s dismissal.
“Today, on the battlefield, the one who is most open to innovation, most open to implementing (new developments) as quickly as possible wins,” Peskov said.
In a reference to the war that Russia is waging with Ukraine, Peskov He said the increase in the Ministry of Defense’s budget is approaching levels last seen during the Cold War.
He said that due to “well-known geopolitical circumstances, we are gradually approaching the situation of the mid-1980s, when the share of security bloc expenses in the economy was 7.4%. It’s not critical, but it’s extremely important.”
“It is very important to now incorporate the defense economy into the country’s economy, and do so in a way that matches the dynamics of the moment,” Peskov insisted.
Currently, Russia’s defense budget is equivalent to 6.7% of GDP, the spokesperson added.
Peskov also highlighted the previous experience of Belousov as minister and his economic background.
“This is not a simple civilian, but a person who very successfully led the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia.for a long time he was the president’s assistant for economic affairs and was also the first vice-president of the Government in the previous cabinet of ministers”, said Peskov.
He highlighted that the new appointment This did not mean a change in Russia’s current military system.
“As for the military component, this appointment will not change the current coordinate systems in any way. The military component has always been the prerogative of the Chief of the General Staff [Valery Gerasimov], and will continue with its activities. Currently, no changes are planned in this regard,” he emphasized.
“It is natural that at the current stage the president decided that the Russian Ministry of Defense would be headed by a civilian,” he argued. Peskov.
But why did Putin change Shoigu?
He Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in a post on social network X that the change strongly suggests that Putin is taking significant steps to mobilize the Russian economy and the defense industrial base to sustain a protracted war in Ukraine and possibly prepare for a future confrontation with NATO.
Regarding the future ShoiguTatiana Stanovaya, a senior researcher at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, said in an online comment cited by the AP that her appointment to the Russian Security Council showed that Putin viewed the institution as “a repository” for his “former key figures.” people you absolutely cannot abandon, but you have no other place for them.”
Andrey Belousov He was born on March 17, 1959. He has a doctorate in Economic Sciences and has a long career in the academic sector and public service, highlighted the Russian media outlet Sputnik. He has no military experience.
In 1981 he graduated in college of Lomonosov University Economics, in Moscow. That same year, and until 1986, he worked as a researcher in the human-machine systems modeling laboratory of the Central Institute of Economics and Mathematics of the USSR Academy of Sciences.
Afterwards, for 20 years he worked in Institute of Economics and Forecasting of Scientific and Technological Progress from the USSR Academy of Sciences, Sputnik noted.
From 2000 to 2006 he was general director of the Center for Macroeconomic Analysis and Short-Term Forecasts and independent advisor to the Prime Minister of Russia.
Between 2006 and 2008 he worked as Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Russiawhile from 2008 to 2012 he held the position of director of the Department of Economics and Finance of the Government of Russia.
In 2012 he was appointed Minister of Economic Development of Russia. In 2013 he was promoted to assistant to the President of Russia. Vladimir Putina position he held until early 2020, when he was appointed First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia.
The proposal to Belousov to head the Ministry of Defense must now be approved by the upper house of the Russian Parliament.
According to ISW, the mandate of almost a decade of Belousov Driving the Economy in the Russian Government and his most recent involvement in managing several national innovation and drone projects prepare him well to lead the beleaguered Ministry of Defense apparatus.
Sergei ShoiguMinister of Defense since 2012, He was a key figure in Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine in February 2022. At that time, Russia and the West awaited a lightning operation that would end with the fall of Kyiv in a matter of days, but it wasn’t like that.
The conflict has lasted two years and Ukraine dealt heavy blows to the powerful Russian army, including the withdrawal of the attempt to take Kiev, and a counter-offensive that drove Moscow’s forces out of the region of Kharkiv. At the same time, the image of Shoigu has been weakening.
As AP explains, before being appointed Minister of Defense, Shoigu He spent more than 20 years doing a markedly different job: in 1991 he was named head of the United States’ disaster response agency. Russian Rescue Corpswhich later became the Ministry of Emergency Situations. Because of this, he became very visible in the position. The work allowed him to be appointed in general even though he had no military training.
As defense chief, Shoigu earned the nickname Minister of War after personally directing Russia’s military operations in Syria and Ukraine, in the latter case in two stages.
In the matter of Ukraineits image is strongly linked to the annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimeaoccurred in 2014 after the secret sending of thousands of Russian soldiers to the bases that the country had in that location thanks to the 1997 Partition Treaty.
Russia also supported the pro-Russian armed uprising in Donbass. At the time, Ukraine said thousands of Russian soldiers were fighting alongside the separatists. Shoigu never recognized him.
While in the case of Syria, Shoigu is linked to the rescue of Bashar al Assad’s regime, whose stability was hanging by a thread after the outbreak of civil war in 2011. Thanks to decisive Russian intervention, the president still remains in power. , while his opponents were seriously decimated.
Despite this, according to the EFE agency, Shoigu has been widely vilified by hawks and military experts due to the lack of progress in the current Ukrainian war.
Just last year he had serious disputes with the late founder of the Wagner Group, Evgeny Prigozhinhis declared enemy.
Shoigu’s departure comes after his deputy was arrested last month, Timur Ivanov, after being accused of bribery and ordered to remain in custody pending an official investigation. The arrest was widely interpreted as an attack on Shoigu and a possible precursor to his removal from office, despite his close personal ties to Putin, the AP noted.
Furthermore, Shoigu’s dismissal comes just as the Russian army has regained the initiative in Donbass and Kharkiv, the scene of a Russian offensive since October 2023, and after the US has finally approved the expected military assistance package for Ukraine estimated at 61 billion dollars.
Source: Elcomercio
I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.
