Earthquake in the Russian government. Russian media reported, citing the statement of the Federation Council, the upper house of the Russian parliament, that Vladimir Putin proposed that Andrei Belousov be the new defense minister. This means that Sergei Shoigu is leaving the ministry following 11 years. This is not the only change.
Sergei Shoigu /MIKHAIL KLIMENTYEV / AFP /East News
The Federation Council announced in a statement on Telegram that it had received candidacies proposed by Vladimir Putin for the heads of a number of ministries and departments.
The key change took place in the Ministry of Defense. The Russian leader nominated First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov for this position.
The current Minister of Defense, Sergei Shoigu (he has held this position since November 6, 2012) will not remain unemployed, as he has been appointed chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation.
The previous head of the Council was Nikolai Patrushev, who was dismissed from this position by presidential decree. The Kremlin announced that he would be transferred to another, yet unknown position.
The Kremlin argues that Vladimir Putin wants the Ministry of Defense to be fully open to innovations and new ideas. That’s why the choice fell on Andrei Belousov.
Belousov is an economist by profession. He has held public functions since 2006. Previously, he was the first deputy prime minister in the previous government of Mikhail Mishustin and served as prime minister for some time. Previously, he was Vladimir Putin’s economic adviser for many years.
There were no changes in other key ministries and departments for the Russian president. Meaning that:
- Vladimir Kolokoltsev will continue to be the Minister of Internal Affairs,
- Alexander Kurenkov will continue to be the Minister for Emergency Situations,
- Sergei Lavrov will continue to be the Minister of Foreign Affairs,
- Konstantin Chuychenko will continue to be the Minister of Justice,
- Sergey Naryshkin will continue to be the director of the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR),
- Alexander Bortnikov will continue to be the director of the Federal Security Service (FSB),
- Viktor Zolotov will continue to be the commander of the Federal Service of the National Guard Troops,
- Dmitry Kochnev will continue to be the commander of the Federal Protection Service (FSO).
The candidacies of the ministries of power and the minister of foreign affairs are submitted not by the head of government, but by the president; they are approved not by the State Duma, but by the Federation Council. Sergei Shoigu is the only minister whom the president proposed not to reappoint.
For the second time in modern Russian history, Shoigu will not hold a ministerial position in the Russian government. He has been a minister since 1991, with a six-month break in 2012, when he was appointed governor of the Moscow Oblast.
The Federation Council announced that deputies will hold consultations on the candidates proposed by the Russian leader at the meetings to be held on Monday and Tuesday.
