Vladimir Putin removes defence minister in major shake-up of Kremlin security team

Russian leader Vladimir Putin has removed Sergei Shoigu from his longtime position as defence minister and appointed him to lead the country’s security and defence council, a consultative body that advises the president, in a major shake-up of the Kremlin’s security team, the Kremlin said on Sunday.

The appointment, announced on the Sunday of a four-day holiday weekend in Russia, was carefully calibrated in tone to not suggest seismic changes amid the protracted war in Ukraine or to signal the reassignment of Shoigu as a demotion. Corruption cases against high-profile officials are rare and often signal an impending power shift. In Russia, news of the probe was widely regarded as an ominous sign for Shoigu. The case also showed a new imperative to fight graft, long tolerated in Russia, to make sure crucial military resources reach the front lines.

Markov said that Putin’s decisions on the reshuffle were being taken in absolute secrecy. “It may be because overstepped his authority,” Markov added.Former prime minister Dmitry Medvedev, who swapped jobs with Putin from 2008 to 2012 to circumvent term limits, has served as deputy head of the security council since his removal as head of the government in January 2020.

Peskov sought to portray a level of continuity and stability in the defence ministry. He said that Belousov’s appointment would not change the “system of coordinates in the military component of the department,” because the head of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Valery Gerasimov, is responsible for it and remains in his post.Belousov has no previous military background.

“On the battlefield, the one who shows more innovation and its prompt implementation wins,” Peskov said. “And therefore, at the current stage, the president decided that the Ministry of Defence should be headed by a civilian. And this is not just a civilian, but a person who very successfully headed the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia.”

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