Who is Russia’s future defense minister Beloussov?

Russia’s Defense Minister Shoigu has to give up his post for a civilian: President Putin’s new man is called Beloussov. The economist is presented by the Kremlin as an innovative choice.

It is an unusual step during an ongoing war: Russian President Vladimir Putin has terminated his previous Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. The current deputy prime minister, Andrei Beloussov, will be his successor.

Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, noting that Shoigu’s successor is a civilian: “Today the winner on the battlefield is the one who is more open to innovations and to their maximum rapid implementation. Therefore, it is quite natural that the president makes the decision that a civilian is at the head of the Ministry of Defense.”

Moreover, it was not just any civilian, but a man who had been at the head of the Russian Ministry of Economic Development for a long time and successfully, said Peskov. Beloussov also worked as an economic advisor to the president.

Beloussov should promote innovation

Beloussov should now expand the Russian arms industry and introduce new technologies, according to Moscow. “The Defense Ministry should be open to innovation, to the implementation of progressive ideas, to creating conditions for economic competitiveness,” Putin’s spokesman said. That is precisely why the President chose Beloussov for the post of Defense Minister.

And Beloussov has another task in mind: he is supposed to bring together Russia’s economic forces. It is extremely important to integrate the military’s economy into the country’s economy, Peskov continued. And to integrate it in such a way “that it corresponds to the dynamics of today’s moment.”

Shoigu’s dismissal as punishment for failures?

Beloussov – a man of modernity. In other words, does this mean that Shoigu represents ancient times? And perhaps it also represents the fact that the war in Ukraine is still not over, more than two years after it began? Will Shoigu be punished?

Putin’s spokesman apparently doesn’t want to allow this kind of tongue-lashing to arise. He emphasizes that the Chief of the General Staff – the man responsible for operations – remains: Valeri Gerasimov. “As for the military part: the appointment (from Beloussow, editor’s note) will in no way change the current coordinate system.” The military part has always been the main task of the Chief of the General Staff, i.e. Gerasimov, and he continues his work. “No changes are planned in this direction at the moment,” Peskov added.

In any case, Shoigu is not completely out of the Moscow scene: he is now set to become secretary of the National Security Council.