As Minister for Civil Protection, he was once the most popular member of the cabinet. Now he is said to have been partly responsible for the deaths of thousands upon thousands of Russian soldiers. But for Putin he is a friend who stands for continuity.
He just had to show up again after the spectacular weekend, the uprising was directed against him. So Sergey Shoygu, Russia’s defense minister, is still there. The ministry showed a 47-second video of him early Monday morning: Shoygu, in a camouflage uniform, is sitting in the helicopter and looking outside; Shoygu visits a command post at the front and gets reports on the situation; Standing, Shoygu bends over any cards lying on the table.