Moscow. Putin fired Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and named previous Deputy Prime Minister Byeloussov as his successor.
More than two years after the start of the war of aggression against Ukraine, the head of the Kremlin Vladimir Putin fired his defense minister and confidant, Sergei Shoigu. Shoigu’s successor will be the current deputy head of government Andrei Beloussov as Russian state agency Tass reported on Sunday, citing the Federation Council. There were suggestions from Putin for the composition of the new Russian Government received. An official reason for the personnel change was not provided.
However, there has been some speculation about a possible dismissal of 68-year-old Shoigus, who has been defense minister since 2012. A few weeks ago, one of Shoigu’s deputies, Timur Ivanov, was there corruption allegations was arrested. Observers interpreted this as a sign of power struggles within the Russian military and security apparatus.
Putin fires Defense Minister Shoigu: new position has already been decided
Shoigu will now be secretary of the National Security Council become; Nikolai Patrushev once held this position. Patrushev’s new mission will be announced soon, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Shoigu’s successor, Beloussov, 65, was Putin’s adviser on economic issues for many years and has held several government positions in recent years. Among other things, he was acting head of government for several weeks in 2020 when Mikhail Mishustin was appointed Corona infection had failed. (dpa)