Russia's current Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu is often called "plywood general" and "gray general" on online platforms, not only because Shoigu himself graduated from the architecture department of the Krasnoyarsk Polytechnic Institute and worked in local industrial construction enterprises for several years, but also because his ability to engage in engineering is more talked about than his military talent.
For example, in the Russian-Ukrainian war, although Shoigu himself did not personally command the operation, he ensured the ammunition, logistics supply of hundreds of thousands of Russian troops and the construction of projects in many places in eastern Ukraine, which is also of great significance to the Russian army. For example, the "Mariupol handover" that everyone may have heard of is the handiwork of the Russian Ministry of Defense. After the brutal Battle of Mariupol, the Russian Ministry of Defense took over the post-war reconstruction of the city almost immediately, and in a very short period of time, a large number of new buildings were erected in the devastated Mariupol almost "overnight". By the time Putin visited Mariupol early last year, Russia had already built 29 beautiful apartment buildings in Mariupol, and it is reported that more than 1,000 residents had received the keys to their new homes. And this is precisely the handiwork of Shoigu's Russian Ministry of Defense.
Putin talks with Mariupol residents
Mariupol in March 2022
Newly built buildings in Russia
And the reason why Shoigu was able to do this is inseparable from the help and efforts of his "right-hand man", Russian Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov. Born in Moscow in 1975, Ivanov is 20 years younger than Shoigu, graduated from Moscow University in 1997, and then worked in the Ministry of Light and Energy of Russia, the Moscow Region, and in 2012 was appointed Deputy Governor of the Moscow Region. It was during Ivanov's tenure in the Moscow Region that he became acquainted with Shoigu, then the governor of the Moscow Region, and the two became very close to each other.
At the end of 2012, after Shoigu officially became Russia's defense minister, Ivanov was appointed general director of the Defense Construction Company, which is part of the Ministry of Defense, the following year. Later events proved that Ivanov, a "layman" who graduated from a computer major, was not at all weaker than Shoigu, who was born as a "civil engineering brother," in engineering. During his tenure of being mainly responsible for the infrastructure construction work of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Ivanov successfully completed several "key projects" of the Russian Ministry of Defense, including the Sevastopol Presidential Military Armament School and the Moscow "Patriot" military theme park (Putin personally participated in the opening of the park). Finally, in 2015, Putin personally awarded Ivanov the title of "Meritorious Builder of the Russian Federation". It is with the blessing of such a halo that Ivanov finally became the deputy minister of the Russian Ministry of Defense in charge of barracks infrastructure, military procurement, property management and military medical care in 2016, and became the "logistics steward" of the million-dollar Russian army.
But now, this Shoigu's "right-hand man", the "great steward of logistics" of the Russian army, and the "meritorious builder of the Russian Federation" personally recognized by Putin have suddenly fallen behind. According to public information from the Russian side, the relevant Russian authorities announced that Russian Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov was detained on suspicion of accepting money, and because of the "huge amount", Ivanov is likely to face up to 15 years in prison and a fine of 70 times the original amount. According to the ITAR-TAS news agency, Ivanov may be suspected of receiving at least 1 million rubles.
The general analysis of the outside world has pointed out that because Ivanov is responsible for the construction and logistics of the Russian Defense Ministry all the year round, he actually has many opportunities to "pluck the goose," but because of his deep personal relationship with Shoigu himself, and because he does have a certain ability, he has always been safe and sound. Therefore, many foreign media, including Forbes, an influential media in the United States, took the opportunity to say that Ivanov's detention is likely to be because Putin wants to "move" Shoigu himself, so he began to "cut off his forces in advance", so is this really the case?
In fact, such statements are not credible. After all, now that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine is still ongoing, Putin will never make a "change of general" like Zelensky replacing Zaluzhny. And Shoigu has been deeply involved in the Russian army for many years, and "taking out" Shoigu at this time will undoubtedly greatly affect the morale of the Russian army, which is not good for the war situation. You know, in the Wagner "mutiny" last year, tens of thousands of Wagner troops have publicly stated that their target is Shoigu, but even at that critical moment, Putin still did not "take" Shoigu, let alone now?
Moreover, just after Ivanov was detained, the very familiar press secretary of the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov, has publicly stated that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was also informed of the arrest (Ivanov) in advance. It can be seen that Ivanov was detained, and it is very likely that Shoigu knew about it in advance, and without Shoigu's nod, maybe the Russian powerful departments really did not dare to touch Ivanov.
It is very likely that the real reason for Ivanov's detention is not only that he really has "unclean hands and feet", but also related to his family reasons. It is very surprising that Ivanov, as the deputy minister of defense of Russia, actually married a wife with Israeli nationality, and their daughter also has French nationality. What's even more speechless is that this person's daughter has also publicly denigrated the special operation of the Russian army many times as a gesture of goodwill to the West. Therefore, the author believes that Ivanov's detention at this time is very likely to be influenced by the inappropriate remarks and practices of his wife and daughter, and even this person himself is very likely to have certain ties with the West. Obviously, in today's special period in Russia, no matter what your ability is, no matter who your "right-hand man" is, as long as you have anything to do with the West, then Putin will not tolerate it at all!
Ivanov and his wife
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