Over the weekend, Russian President Vladimir Putin surprised observers by replacing the long-serving Minister of Defense, Sergey Shoigu. What are the main reasons for this change?
**Unexpected Change**
In an unexpected shift, Putin replaced the long-serving Minister of Defense with a seasoned economic advisor, indicating a focus on developing the Russian war economy more than two years after the war in Ukraine. Putin introduced his former economic assistant and First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov, 65, to take over the position of Minister of Defense from Shoigu, who is 68, and was gently eased into the role of head of the Security Council. Most of Shoigu's predecessors under Putin did not have a military background, but this is the first time Putin has chosen an economic professional to be Minister of Defense.
**Reasons Related to Shoigu**
Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, rumors have circulated regarding the "inefficiency of the ousted Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu," and about his extravagance and wastefulness in the massive defense budget, according to The Times. Since Putin launched his war on Ukraine in 2022, The Times states: "There has been a sense of complacency and inefficiency in the military led by Shoigu (68 years old)." British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps may have pinpointed one reason when he stated that his Russian counterpart Shoigu was responsible for "over 355,000 casualties" among "his soldiers" during the war in Ukraine. Shapps wrote on platform X, “Shoigu has caused more than 355,000 casualties among his soldiers and immense suffering among civilians as part of an unlawful campaign in Ukraine.”
**A Warning Message**
This dismissal comes after the arrest in April of Timor Ivanov, the Russian Deputy Minister of Defense, who The Times reported had lived in gross extravagance for years, boasting about his ability to acquire villas, yachts, and Rolls Royce cars. The paper stated that the widespread bribery charges against Ivanov led some analysts to say that it was a clear message to his close ally and boss, Sergey Shoigu.
**The New Face**
Putin opted to replace Shoigu with a seasoned technocrat, in one of the largest cabinet reshuffles in the past decade. Belousov (65 years old) was the First Deputy Prime Minister and an economic expert, as well as an advisor to Putin. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that the proposed appointment of a civilian to the Minister of Defense position demonstrates that the minister's role requires "innovation." He added that Russia has become similar to the Soviet Union in the mid-1980s, when a high percentage of gross domestic product went to military spending. He explained that as a result, it was necessary to ensure that military spending was better integrated into the overall Russian economy. Peskov emphasized that "the person most open to innovations is the one who will prevail on the battlefield."
